A Gilbert By Any Other Name Would Still Taste As Sweet
by LoveIsAllYouNeed96
Summary: After 145 years, the mysterious vampire Damon Salvatore returns to his home town of Mystic Falls, Virginia intent on making his younger brother, Stefan Salvatore's life a misery in any way he can. He soon falls for the beautiful Sophia Gilbert, a girl with a tragic past and uncanny resemblance to his lost love Katherine.
1. The First Day

I lay a white rose onto the mound of my parents grave before running my hand across the top of the headstone. I turned to see a crow sitting on one of the headstones in the graveyard.

"Shoo!" I shouted while waving my arms towards it.

The crow flew away quickly.

I began walking towards the exit of the graveyard. The sound of footsteps came from behind me. I quickly turned to see nothing. I began walking faster as I knew someone was following me. A fog began to appear around me as I walked.

"Who's there?" I asked before looking around once again. The fog had made visibility low. There was no chance I would be able to spot anyone in the graveyard now. The crow sat on the top of the gate post. It cawwed as I passed it. "What you staring at?" I shook my head. "Talking to birds...nice one Sophia. They're definately going to think you've lost it now." I smirked before noticing a girl standing at the edge of the fog. "Elena!" I shouted. The crow cawwed loudly behind me causing me to turn. When I looked back at the girl, she was gone. "Maybe they were right." Before I could continue on, I felt myself falling. Something had pushed me. I landed on the ground with a thump. A rock had pierced into my hand. I looked down and saw the blood. Immediately, I felt woozy. Spiders, horror films, heights, no problem. Blood is my strongest weakness. There's just something about blood that makes me feel sick. This fear of blood developed after the car accident. Maybe it's just my brain getting me back for surviving the accident.

"Are you alright?" Asked someone infront of me.

I looked up at the boy and nodded.

He held out his hand and pulled me up.

"Thanks." I put my hand behind my back to try and distract myself from the blood. "I don't know what happened. I was walking and then I just fell. Too clumsy for my own good, that's what Elena says." I smiled.

His brown hair stood out from the white of the fog. "You shouldn't be out in weather like this. Could be dangerous." He smiled.

"It wasn't like this when I arrived. I was just visiting then it came out of nowhere." My phone vibrated. I took it out of her pocket. 'Elena calling'. I pressed accept. "Hello...yeh I'm coming now. Tell Jenna I won't be long." I pressed end call. "Sorry I gotta go." I began walking away. "Nice meeting you." I smiled.

"Where have you been?" Asked Jenna.

"At the graveyard. Met this really fit boy there." I laughed.

Elena shook her head. "Unbelievable." She laughed.

"You'se two need to get ready for school. Don't want to be late on your first day back." Jenna smiled. "Oh and try and get your brother out of bed. He wouldn't listen to me."

Elena and I nodded before walking up the stairs. I grabbed an air horn from our room and walked into Jeremy's room. I then snook over to the bed and put the horn by his ear before pressing down the button. The horn blared causing Jeremy to scream and fall out of the bed. Me and Elena began laughing hysterically before bursting into tears at our brother's reaction.

"Not cool!" He laughed.

I sat in the back of Bonnie's car. Elena sat in the front with Bonnie.

"So Grams is telling me I'm psychic. Our ancestors were from Salem, witches and all that, I know, crazy, but she's going on and on about it, and I'm like, put this woman in a home already! But then I started thinking, I predicted Obama and I predicted Heath Ledger, and I still think Florida will break off and turn into little resort islands... Elena! Back in the car." Said Bonnie trying to get Elena to zone back in.

I laughed.

"I did it again, didn't I? I-I'm sorry, Bonnie. You were telling me that..."

"That I'm psychic now." Bonnie finished.

"Right. Ok, then predict something. About me." I said before leaning forward.

"I see..."

A crow flew into the windscreen of the car. Bonnie braked and swerved. I screamed as I was thrown forward. My seatbelt stopped me.

"What was that?! Oh, my god! Sophia, are you ok? Elena?" Panicked Bonnie.

I nodded.

"It's ok. I'm fine." Answered Elena.

"It was like a bird or something. It came out of nowhere." Bonnie looked around.

"Really, we can't be freaked out by cars for the rest of our life." I trying to calm myself down.

"I predict this year is going to be kick ass. And I predict all the sad and dark times are over and you'se two are going to be beyond happy." She grinned.

I smiled.

As we walked onto the school grounds, I noticed Matt. He looked at Elena before turning away and continuing with his game of basketball. "He hates you."

"That's not hate. That's "you dumped me, but I'm too cool to show it, but secretly I'm listening to air supply's greatest hits." Added Bonnie.

Caroline came rushing over before throwing her arms around Elena. "Elena. Oh, my god. How are you? Oh, it's so good to see you."

"Nice to see you too Caroline." I said quietly to Bonnie before smirking.

"I'm fine. Thank you." Smiled Elena.

"Really?" She questioned.

"Yes. Much better."

"I'm fine too just incase you were wondering." I grinned sarcastically.

Caroline just looked at me before walking away.

"What's her problem?" I asked.

"No idea but this is Caroline we're talking about." Smirked Bonnie.

"True." I agreed.

We walked into the main school building before standing outside the office. Bonnie tapped Elena on the shoulder.

"Who's that?" She asked pointing.

Elena pulled her arm down. "Don't point. All I see is back anyway."

"I know him." I commented.

"Your records are incomplete. You're missing immunization records, and we do insist on transcripts." Said the secretary.

"Please look again. I'm sure everything you need is there." Replied the boy.

"Well, you're right. So it is." Smiled the secretary.

"How?" Asked Bonnie and Elena simultaneously.

"He was at the graveyard."

"I'm sensing Seattle, and he plays the guitar." Smirked Bonnie.

"You're really going to run this whole psychic thing into the ground, huh?" I asked.

"Pretty much." She laughed.

I noticed Jeremy handing something to another student. "I'll be right back." I said before following him into the boys bathroom.

"Sophia get out!" He said loudly.

I grabbed his face before looking into his eyes to see if he was high. "Great. It's the first day of school and you're already stoned." I said angrily.

"No, I'm not!" He insisted.

"Where is it? Is it on you?" I began searching him.

"Stop, all right?! You need to chill yourself, all right? God your as bad as Elena!"

"Chill myself? What is that, Stoner talk? Dude, you are so cool." I mimicked.

"Look, stop! I don't have anything on me. Are you crazy?" He pushed me away.

"You haven't seen crazy, Jeremy! I gave you a summer pass, but I am done watching you destroy yourself. No, no, no, you know what? Go ahead. Keep it up. But just know that I am going to be there to ruin your buzz every time, you got it? Jeremy, I know who you are. And it's not this person. So don't be this person."

"I don't need this." He stormed out of the bathrooms.

Elena noticed Jeremy leave the bathrooms and walked in to find Sophia. "What was that about?" She asked.

"It's Jeremy being...Jeremy." I said sarcastically.

She shook her head before walking out of the bathroom. "Oh sorry!"

I looked out of the bathroom to see the boy from before standing infront of Elena.

"Uh, pardon me. Um... Is this the men's room?" He asked.

"Yes. Um, I was just, Um-I was just-It's a long story. Just... Thank you." She cleared up.

I laughed at her.

The boy nodded before walking past me into the bathroom.

"Once our home state of Virginia joined confederacy in 1861, it created a tremendous amount of tension within the state. People in Virginia's northwest region had different ideals than those from the traditional deep south. Then Virginia divided in 1863 with the northwest region joining the union." Mr Tanner paced back and forward at the front of the classroom. History was always a bore. The boy from earlier looked at Elena before turning his attention back to Mr Tanner. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and created a new message.

Elena felt her phone vibrate. She opened the message. 'HAWT-E. STARING U.' She turned to me and smiled.

I leant back against the headstone of the grave. Elena was sat writing an entry in her diary beside me.

'Dear diary, we made it through the day. I must have said, "I'm fine, thanks," at least 37 times. And I didn't mean it once. But no one noticed. When someone asks, "How are you?" They really don't want an answer.'

A crow appeared and stood on the tomb infront of us.

"You again!" I laughed.

Elena turned to me. "Again?"

"Yeh it was here this morning too."

"There is more than one crow in existence you know." She joked.

"I do know that." I smiled. "Hi, bird."

The fog began to ascend around the cemetary once again.

"Uhh...I hate this fog!" I shouted before standing up. I dusted myself off.

"Strange." Said Elena.

"It was exactly the same this morning." I looked around. "Hey were you at the cemetary this morning?" I asked.

Elena shook her head. "No why?"

"No reason." She noticed a boy standing by the tomb.

"Elena!" I grabbed her arm. "Elena run!" I pulled her away quickly before running.

Elena began running too. "Sophia!...What's wrong?"

"There's someone watching us behind the tomb." She panted.

Elena tripped and fell.

I stopped and waited for her making sure that I kept an eye on our surroundings. I turned.

Elena stood up. The boy was standing infront of her. She screamed.

I quickly turned around. Where had he come from?

"You ok?" He asked.

"Sorry, you spooked me that's all. Were you following me?" She asked.

"No, I, uh, I just-I saw you fall."

"Uh-Huh, and you just happened to be hanging out in a cemetery." She smiled.

"Elena!" I scolded.

"I'm visiting. I have family here." He said awkwardly.

"Oh. Wow. Tactless. I'm sorry. It's the fog, It's making me foggy. And then back there, there was this- this bird, and it was all very Hitchcock for a second. That is the bird movie, right, the Hitchcock? I'm Elena."

"Sophia." I added. No one seemed to care if I even existed. I wonder if anyone would've actually noticed if I had died in the car accident.

"I'm Stefan." He smiled.

"I know. We have history together." She giggled.

I pretended to put my finger down my throat.

"Right. Anyway."

Stefan pulled a leaf out of her hair.

"Come on Elena I do want to get home." I joked.

"I'll see you around." She smiled before walking towards me.

"Unbelievable." I said under my breath.

"We're meeting Bonnie at the grill." I said to Jeremy before walking to the bottom of the stairs. "Come on Elena!" I shouted.

"Coming." She came down the stairs and opened the door. Stefan stood on the doorstep.

"Sorry, I was about to knock. You left this earlier. Thought you might want it back." He handed her back her diary. "Don't worry I didn't read it."

"Oh, I must have dropped it. I- Thank you." She smiled.

"Emm...How did you know where we lived?" I asked from behind her.

"It's a small town. I asked the first person I saw." He answered.

Elena nodded.

"Sorry, am I getting in the way of you going somewhere?" He asked.

"No it's fine we're just meeting a friend. Do you want to come?" Asked Elena.

I rolled my eyes.

He nodded.

We walked into the Mystic Grill. Elena and Stefan walked over to Matt and Caroline. I noticed Peter and walked over to him. "Hi." I smiled.

He just looked at me before returning to his game of pool.

"Peter?" I asked wondering why he was giving me the silent treatment. "Have I done something wrong?"

He shook his head.

"Then what's wrong?"

Peter put down the cue and stood infront of me. "I can't go on pretending." He couldn't even look me in the eyes.

"Pretending?" I asked.

"That this is going to work. Sophia I haven't seen you for months. You don't answer my calls or my texts."

"Don't turn this back on me! You wanna know what my life's like? No one notices me. You hate me. My sister gets all the attention. Jeremy's doing drugs. Aunt Jenna regrets taking us in. I have no friends and to top it all off It's my fault that my parents died." I shouted.

"Look Sophia I..." He began.

"Just don't!" I cut him off before storming out.

I slammed the door behind me before leaning back against it and crying. I slid down it to the floor before burying my head in my hands. Jeremy came out of the living room when he heard me.

"Sophia?" He asked softly.

I looked up at him and put on a fake smile.

"What's wrong?"

"Life!" I answered.

He thought for a moment. "Come on." He held out his hand.

I took his hand and stood up. "Where?" I asked.

"Back to school party." He smiled.

"Jeremy I'm..."

"Ahh come on. It'll be fun."

I sighed. "Fine but atleast let me get changed." I ran up the stairs.

Me and Jeremy arrived at the party in the woods. I looked around and noticed Elena with Bonnie and Stefan. Peter stood talking to Caroline. "Great."

"What?" Asked Jeremy.

"Peter." I said signalling with my eyes.

"What about Peter?"

"He broke up with me." I took a beer out from one of the cool boxes and downed half of it out of anger.

"Oh." He said awkwardly.

"Yeh." I could easily see that Jeremy wanted to go and hang out with his own friends. "Go." I said.

"What?" He asked confused.

"Stop fussing over me and go hang out with someone your own age." I joked before ruffling his hair. He always hates me doing that especially infront of his friends.

"Get off." He said playfully before walking off.

I relunctantly walked over to Romeo and Juliet. "Hi."

Elena turned to me. "Hi Sophia."

Caroline walked over and began talking to Stefan. "Hey! You made it!" She said happily.

"I did." He answered.

"Great!" She grinned.

Bonnie shook her head before pulling Caroline away. "Come on you." The two of them walked away.

"I like Bonnie, she seems like a good friend." Smiled Stefan.

"Best friend in the world."

"And Matt, he can't seem to, uh, take his eyes off of us." Said Stefan.

"Matt's that friend since childhood that you start dating because you owe it to yourselves to see if you can be more."

"And?"

"And then my parents died, and everything changed. Anyway, Matt and I, together we just, I don't know, It wasn't, um... It wasn't..."

"Real!" I finished her sentence for her out loud. As soon I realised what I had done, I looked at her. "Elena, I didn't mean that." I said regretting my outburst.

Matt walked over. "Elena can I talk to you?" He asked in a broken tone.

Elena nodded before walking off with him.

I downed the rest of the bottle. Stefan just looked at me. I could tell he found it awkward. I'm not that hard to get to know. Do I have to make all the effort! "So, you were born in Mystic Falls?" I asked.

"Mm-Hmm. And moved when I was still young."

"Parents?"

"My parents passed away."

"Oh...sorry." I felt even more bad. It's official, I have the natural ability to make people feel like shit.

"It's fine don't worry." He smiled at me.

I turned as I heard Elena shout. "Matt!..." He shouted once again. I shook my head as I saw her run after him.

Caroline returned. "Hey! Have you been down to the falls yet? Because they are really cool at night. And I can show you. If you want."

"How much have you had to drink?" I asked her.

"What's it to you?" She snapped.

"I was just..."

"No I don't care what you think. I can do whatever I want without bitches like you trying to stop me!" Her aggresive tone and strong comments actually hurt.

"Hey you shouldn't speak to her like that." Said Stefan stepping in.

Elena walked over. "What's wrong?"

"I'm gonna go." I put my empty bottle down on the ground.

"No, stay. Don't leave on her behalf!" Stefan smiled at me. "I think you've had too much to drink Caroline." His tone was defensive and calm as he spoke to her.

"Well, of course I have. So-"

"Caroline. You and me, it's not gonna happen. Sorry."

I couldn't hide my slight snigger as he turned her down flat.

Caroline didn't say a word before she turned and walked off.

"What did she say to you?" Elena asked protectively.

"It's fine. She's drunk." I looked around for Jeremy.

"No it's not fine." She turned to Stefan. "What did she say to her?"

"Sophia's right, she won't have meant what she said."

I noticed Jeremy drunk. "I'm going to find Jeremy. I'll see you later." I smiled before walking off.

I followed Jeremy into the forest.

"Jeremy! Jeremy!" I shouted. "Jeremy, where the hell are you going?"

Jeremy stopped suddenly. Before him lay Vicki's body.

"Vicki? No! Oh, my god, it's Vicki!" Panicked Jeremy.

"Oh, my god!" I put my hand over my mouth in shock.

"No!"

Jeremy carried Vicki in his arms. I ran ahead.

"Somebody help!" I screamed.

Matt ran over. "Vicki? Vicki, what the hell?!"

Peter also came over. "What happened to her?"

Jeremy lay her down.

Matt took his phone out of his pocket. "I'll call an ambulance."

"It's her neck. Something bit her. She's losing a lot of blood." I panicked.

"Vicki, Vicki, come on, open your eyes, look at me." Matt knelt beside her and shook her gently.

I watched Matt leave in the ambulance with Vicki before walking over to Elena and Bonnie.

"Hey. We're gonna go to Mainline Coffee, wait for news." Said Bonnie.

I nodded. "I'll take Jeremy home."

I noticed Jeremy drinking a beer as I approached him. He looked broken. I sat down on the log beside him.

"You ok? I called Jenna, she's on her way. Those people in uniforms, last time I checked, they're the police. People are going to stop giving you breaks, Jer. They just don't care anymore. They don't remember that our parents are dead, because they've got their own lives to deal with. The rest of the world has moved on. You should try, too. Mom and dad wouldn't have wanted this." I said softly.

"I've seen you and Elena in the cemetery. You hide your emotions from everyone and only break down when you think people can't see you. And Elena writes in her diary everyday. Is that supposed to be you'se two moving on?" He looked at me sadly.

"We can get through this. It's just going to take time." I smiled.


	2. The Night Of The Comet

"Do I look adult? As in respectfully parental?" I heard Aunt Jenna talking to Elena in the kitchen as I went down the stairs.

"Depends on where you're going." She replied.

"Jeremy's parent-teacher conference. Hair up or down?"

"Sexy stewardess. Boozy housewife." Smirked Elena.

"Up it is. You're feisty today." She tied her hair up before grabbing her bag.

"I feel good, which is rare. So I've decided to go with it. Fly free, walk on the sunshine, and all that stuff." Elena did seem happy this morning. No doubt Stefan had something to do with that.

"Where's Jeremy?" I asked over the top of their conversation

"He left early. Something about getting to wood shop early to finish a birdhouse."

I rolled my eyes and grabbed my books before leaving the house. "There is no wood shop." I mumbled under my breath.

I entered the hospital and walked to the reception desk. "Hi I'm looking for Vicki Donovan." I asked politely.

"Are you a relative?" The nurse asked me.

"No but I came to get my brother." I answered truthfully.

She nodded. "Ok." Then led me to one of the side rooms. Jeremy stood by Vicki's bedside.

"You can't be in here, Jer. Visiting hours don't start till 9:00." I said softly as I entered.

"I just... I just wanted to see if she was ok." His eyes were red from sleep deprivation and crying.

A nurse came into the room.

"How is she?" Asked Jeremy.

"She's lost a lot of blood." She took Vicki's notes out from the holder at the foot of her bed and started reading over them.

"Yeah, but she's gonna be OK, right?" He asked.

The nurse turned to me. I knew he shouldn't be here.

"She needs to rest Jeremy. We'll come back later. Come on." I put my arm round his shoulders and led him out of the room.

I arrived into history late.

"Late again Miss Gilbert, I hope this isn't going to be a permenant thing." He said sternly.

"Sorry sir." I took my seat.

"Anyway as I was saying, the comet will be its brightest right after dusk during tomorrow's celebration..."

Elena looked at me.

My phone vibrated. 'Where u been?'

'Hospital with Jer'

'Is Vicki ok?'

'Don't know yet'

'Is Jer alright?'

'No.'

"Well, I was talking to Grams, and she said the comet is a sign of impending doom. The last time it passed over Mystic Falls, there was lots of death. So much blood and carnage, it created a bed of paranormal activity." Said Bonnie.

I sat beside them with my feet up on the edge of the chair beside me. I noticed Peter talking to Matt by the bar. I missed him already.

"Yeah, and then you poured Grams another shot and she told you about the aliens." She mocked before turning her attention back to Elena. "So you and Stefan talked all night? There was no sloppy first kiss or touchy feely of any kind?"

"Nope. We didn't go there, we just talked for hours." She smiled.

What an exciting life my sister lives.

Elena stood up.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"If I sit here long enough, I'll end up talking myself out of it instead of doing what I started the day saying what I was going to do." She grabbed her bag.

"I'm coming too." I picked up my jacket.

"Your coming?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Yeh, I've got nothing better to do." I used the grinning look that she has always hated.

She shook her head. "Alright fine."

Elena walked up to the door and knocked. The door opened.

"Creepy." I mocked before barging past her and walking in. Looking around, the walls were lined with pictures of birds and antique vases stood on old oak tables. A persian rug sat in the middle of the hallway. A boy stood before me.

"Oh...emm...sorry for barging in. The door was... Open." I smiled.

"You must be Elena." He said talking to Elena. "And you are..." He smiled.

"Sophia."

"I'm Damon, Stefan's brother."

"He didn't tell us he had a brother. Not that I'm complaining."

He smiled. "Well, Stefan's not one to brag."

I laughed.

"Please, come. I'm sure Stefan will be along any second." He stood back allowing Elena entrance into what appeared to be the living room.

"Wow. This is your living room?" She said admiring it.

"Living room, parlor, seventies auction. It's a little kitschy for my taste. I see why my brother's so smitten. It's about time. For a while there, I never thought he'd get over the last one. Nearly destroyed him."

"The last one?" Asked Elena.

"Yeah. Katherine, his girlfriend? Oh, you two haven't had the awkward exes conversation yet." He said awkwardly.

"Nope." I added.

"Oops. Well, I'm sure it'll come up now. Or maybe he didn't want to tell you because he didn't want you to think he was on the rebound. We all know how those relationships end."

I felt bad for finding that sentence so funny as she is my sister but I couldn't hold back my laughter.

"Sophia!" She said sternly.

Damon turned to me and smiled.

Stefan entered the room. "Elena. I didn't know you were coming over."

"You may have noticed, I'm invisible." I whispered.

"That's not always a bad thing." He replied.

"I know. I should have called, I just..." Began Elena.

"Oh, don't be silly. You're welcome any time. Isn't she, Stefan? You know, I should break out the family photo albums or some home movies. But... I have to warn you. He wasn't always such a looker." Said Damon sarcastically.

"Thank you for stopping by, Elena. Nice to see you." Stated Stefan.

"Yeah, we should probably go. It was nice to meet you, Damon."

"We?" I said looking at her.

"Yes we." She grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the house.

I moaned.

"Great meeting you." He said before Elena closed the door.

"He's on the rebound and has raging family issues." Elena complained to Aunt Jenna.

"On the bright side he has a fit older brother." I grinned.

Elena looked at me.

"What?"

"Well, at least it's an ex-girlfriend. Wait till you date a guy with mommy issues or cheating issues. Or amphetamine issues." Replied Aunt Jenna.

Jeremy closed the front door. I walked out of the kitchen and into the hallway.

"Uhh not now?" He groaned before beggining to walk up the stairs.

I grabbed him and pulled him back down.

"Ow! Why? Why... why did you do that?" He complained.

"Listen up! Aunt Jenna told me you've been ditching classes. Why? Is it fun?"

"Parental authority, I like it." He mocked.

"Well we don't have any of those so I guess I'm going to have to do."

"What do you want me to say Sophia?"

"That you'll stop acting like a child and get on with your life." I said softly. "I know your upset because of what happened to Vicki but you shouldn't let it interfere with your life."

"Good night Sophia." He pushed my hand away and walked up the stairs.

Elena and Bonnie were handing out programmes. I walked behind them trying to think of a way to get through to Jeremy.

"You could help you know Sophia." Said Elena.

I just ignored her.

"He didn't call, huh?" Asked Bonnie.

"Or text. But I realized we never even exchanged that stuff. We've never gotten to the texting part."

"That's an important milestone in any relationship." Smiled Bonnie.

"Isn't it? The timing is wrong, anyway." She looked down.

"When is it ever right?"

"I'm not ready, Bonnie." Her tone was sad as she handed out a programme.

"Who is?" Bonnie said supportively.

"At least I put myself out there." Said Elena quite proud of herself.

"Is that what you're calling it?"

"What do you mean?" Asked Elena.

"All I'm hearing is reasons why you can't." Bonnie smiled.

I noticed Damon. I began walking over him but he seemed to vanish. Now I'm seeing things. Just another thing to add to my ever growing list.

After they had finished handing out programmes. We all gathered in Mystic Square.

"Hey, I got some candles." Caroline handed one to each of us.

"Hey." Matt walked over to Elena.

"Hi." She smiled.

Matt lit Elena's candle.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." He smiled.

Stefan came over. Elena lit his candle.

"Thank you. Hi."

"Hi." She smiled.

I smiled at how adorable they looked together. I left the two to talk and walked off. Someone tapped me on the shoulder. It was Peter.

"Hey." He said.

"Hi."

He lit my candle.

"Thanks."

"Look Sophia, I didn't mean what I said in the grill. I've been really stupid and I don't want to loose you. I love you and nothing has changed how I feel for you." He poured his heart out.

I smiled. "I love you too." I kissed him before blowing out my candle and walking away.

I overheard Jeremy talking.

"Are you dealing?" I asked him.

"I'm not dealing." He tried to walk away but I grabbed him by the arm.

"Oh, no, no, no. You are coming with me. Look, I'm sick of the tough love speech, Jer. It's clearly having no impact."

"You, Elena and Jenna, between the three of you. Enough already!" He shouted.

"We can stop if you want. Send you to a therapist where you'll be forced to deal with it or to rehab where you'll sit in group and tell some stranger how you let your life fall apart. Or you could talk to me." I said softly.

"I vote for none of the above."

I walked into Jeremy's room.

"Jer?" I asked.

"No, it's me, the hypocrite patrol." Said Aunt Jenna searching his room.

"What are you doing?"

"I've become my worst nightmare. The authority figure who has to violate a 15-year-old's privacy. Jackpot. I see the hiding places haven't gotten any more creative."

"What brought this on?"

"Your ass-hat of a history teacher shamed me good yesterday." Smirked Jenna.

"You got tannered. Been there." I laughed.

"Discover the impossible, Ms. Summers." Got it. Thanks. Like I didn't know I was screwing up." She said sadly.

"You're not screwing up, Jenna." I smiled.

"Yes, I am. You know why? Because I'm not her. She made everything look so easy. You know, high school, marriage, having you. I can't do it. I'm gonna say or do the wrong thing, and he's gonna get worse, and it's gonna be my fault. It's impossible."

"This is just the fear talking. You're a little scared, that's all. We all are." I walked over and hugged her. "Things will get better." I smiled before looking at the time on my phone. "I need to go and pick up Elena."

"I can do it." Said Jenna.

"It's alright." I smiled before leaving the room.

I walked to my car which was parked three streets down. I turned as I heard something. As I tried to unlock the door, I dropped my keys. I quickly picked them up. Damon stood infront of me.

"Oh..." I jumped.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you." He said.

"No, it's fine. Um... I was hoping I'd see you again." I smiled.

"I know." He smiled.

"Cocky much?" I smirked.

"Very much."

Damon and I sat kissing in the backseat of my car. Everything felt so right. All of a sudden, his eyes turned red and he bit me.


	3. Friday Night Bites

I woke up on a bed. The pillow I had lay upon was covered in blood. Damon lay sleeping next to me. I pulled back the covers and snook out of bed before heading for the door. Damon stirred.

"Good morning." He said happily.

"Please... Don't." I said grabbing a book from a pile on the floor.

"Don't do that. Ah, ah, ah, ah." He ducked as I threw the book at him.

"No! No! No! Get away from me! No!" I screamed.

"This could have gone a completely different way." He grinned before speeding across the room and biting me.

Damon drove me to school. I kissed him before getting out.

"I got the other brother. Hope you don't mind." I smiled before sitting down by Bonnie and Elena.

Elena and I stood in the kitchen preparing dinner. Bonnie walked in.

"Did you talk to your Grams?" Asked Elena.

"She keeps saying I'm a witch. I don't want to be a witch. Do you want to be a witch?"

"I don't want to be a witch." I answered before pouring the soup into a bowl.

"And putting your cooking in a nice bowl isn't fooling anybody." She laughed.

"I'm an excellent cook I'll have you know." I joked.

"Ok, serving spoons. Where are the serving spoons?" Said Elena looking round.

"Middle drawer on your left." Answered Bonnie.

"Ok, so you've been in this kitchen like a thousand times." Laughed Elena.

"Yeah, that's it." She smiled.

The doorbell rang.

"Elena you get it, it's probably your boyfriend." I teased.

She shook her head and walked off.

The doorbell rang again just before we sat down for dinner. "I'll get it." I shouted walking to the door. Damon was standing on the doorstep. "Hi." I smiled. "Come on in your just in time for dinner."

Damon walked in. "You have a lovely home Sophia." He smiled.

"Your kidding right?"

Stefan walked into the hallway. "What are you doing here?" He asked.

"I was invited." He grinned before walking into the dining room.

We all sat round the table eating. Damon sat next to me and Elena and Stefan sat opposite. Bonnie sat at the head of the table.

"Did Tanner give you a hard time today?" Asked Elena.

"Well, he let me on the team, so I must have done something right." Answered Stefan.

"Good for you brother." Smiled Damon.

"Caroline was complaining about you not knowing the routines. I told her I would help you." Said Bonnie.

"You know, you don't seem like the cheerleader type, Elena." Damon pointed out.

"It's cause I missed the summer camp. The others are way ahead of me and to be honest I don't really enjoy it like I used to."

"You'll get it." Smiled Stefan.

After dinner, I sat in the living room with Stefan. Elena and Damon were in the kitchen doing the washing up.

"That's a really nice scarf." Said Stefan.

"Thanks." I smiled.

"Can I see it? I mean, would you mind taking it off?"

Damon walked in. "What are you two kids talking about?"

"I was just commenting on her scarf."

"Hmm. Hey, you know, um, Elena and Bonnie are finishing up the dishes. Why don't you go see if you can help?" He looked into my eyes.

"I'm gonna go see if Elena needs some help in the kitchen." I walked off into the kitchen.

"They are people, Damon. She's not a puppet. She doesn't exist for your amusement, for you to feed on whenever you want to." Said Stefan sternly.

"Sure she does. They all do. They're whatever I want them to be. They're mine for the taking." He smiled.

"All right, you've had your fun. You used Sophia, you got to meet Elena, good for you. Now it's time for you to go."

"That's not a problem. Because... I've been invited in, and I'll come back tomorrow night and the following night and I'll do with your little cheerleader and her sister whatever I want to do. Because that is what is normal to me." He grinned.

I exited the stands before walking down onto the pitch with Elena.

"Ooh. Look at you. You look hot in your jersey." Commented Elena.

I noticed Peter. "Shit!" I snook behind the crowds of students.

Stefan handed Elena a necklace.

"Oh, my God, it's beautiful." Said Elena putting it on.

"It's something that I've had forever, and, uh, I've never wanted to give it to anyone until now. I'd very much like it if you'd wear it for me." He smiled.

"Sophia!" Shouted Bonnie before coming over.

"Great!" I muttered under my breath. Peter walked over.

"Hey." He kissed me.

"Hi." I turned to Bonnie. "Me and Bonnie were just going. I'll see you around." I smiled before dragging Bonnie away. "Thanks for that."

"You haven't told him."

"No! Oh by the way Peter I know you announced your undying love for me yesterday but I'm now going out with an incredible hot guy who just happens to be my sister's boyfriend's brother."

Bonnie looked at me. "Sophia."

"I know I'm a terrible person. I get it." I walked off.


	4. Family Ties

"To repeat, the animal terrorizing Mystic Falls has been caught."

"Uhhh." Moaned Damon as he turned off the tv.

I began trying on some dresses from my wardrobe. I picked out a yellow one and put it on.

"No yellow. Jaundice. Go for the blue." He said.

"I don't like the blue." I answered before looking in the mirror.

"Well, I do. And if I'm gonna be your date-" He looked into my eyes.

"I'll find a blue dress." I smiled before looking in my wardrobe once again.

"I went through a lot of trouble to make sure this party wasn't cancelled. It's very important I be there. Please take me." He looked into my eyes once again.

"You should come to the founder's party with me." I stated.

"Great." He smiled. "What's so special about this Bella girl? Edward's so whipped."

"You gotta read the first book first. It won't make sense if you don't." I laughed.

"Ah, I miss Anne Rice. She was so on it."

"How come you don't sparkle?" I asked.

"Because I live in the real world, where vampires burn in the sun."

"Yeah, but you go in the sun." I raised an eyebrow.

"I have a ring. It protects me. Long story."

"Will these bites turn me into a vampire?" I looked at the bites on my neck in the mirror.

"It's more complicated than that. You'd have to feed on my blood, then die, then feed on a human's,it's a whole ordeal." He threw New Moon on the floor and pulled me onto the bed. "This book, by the way has it all wrong." He kissed me.

I giggled. "You can be very sweet when you want to be."

"Yes, I can be sweet." He smiled.

His eyes turned red again. "Are you going to kill me?" I asked.

"Mm-Hmm. But not yet."

"Why not?" I asked curiously.

"Because there's something I need you to do for me."

Bonnie and I walked into the Mystic Grill.

"You're taking Damon to the founder's party? What about me?" She said.

"Go with Elena." I answered.

"She's asking Stefan."

"Then go by yourself." I smirked.

"Gee, thanks. What about Elena? Does she know your bringing Damon? Do she even know your dating?" She asked.

"No she doesn't but I don't know why it would affect her if she did."

"She's your sister."

"Anyway what's the problem with bringing Damon?" I asked.

"He's older sexy danger guy."

"Older sexy danger guy? Is that an official witch twitter tweet?" I smirked.

"No more witch jokes, ok? That whole Mr. Tanner prediction thing has me freaked." She looked worried.

"Ok. And Damon's not dangerous. You know, he just has a lot of issues with his brother. You know, like major, deep-Rooted drama."

"Like...?" She asked.

"I can't say."

The Lockwood Mansion was full to bursting. Everyone was admiring the various displays that were layed out. Damon walked up the stairs. I followed him. "Damon." He began looking through the collection.

"Um, you're not supposed to touch." I stated.

He lifted the lid of an old wooden box and took out a circular silver pendant with an orange stone in the middle.

"What is that?" I asked.

"A very important crystal." He looked around to make sure no one saw him.

"Well, how did you know that it was there?"

"Because I put it there." He answered.

"When?" I raised an eyebrow.

"A long time ago. Tonight, I'm taking it back, thanks to you." He smiled before putting it into his pocket.

"You can't just steal it." I whispered.

"It's not stealing if it's mine. Come on." He left the room.

I noticed Elena enter the powder room. She came over to talk to me. "Hey." She smiled.

"Hey. So how are things with Stefan?" I asked her.

"Great." She grinned.

I smiled and hugged her. "You'se two are so cute together. It's unreal." I let go.

"Thanks Sophia." She noticed my neck. "What is that?"

"Hmm?" I asked.

Elena tried to take my scarf off.

"Don't!" I shouted.

Elena took the scarf off. "Oh god, Sophia, what happened?" She panicked.

"Nothing, ok?!" I quickly put the scarf back on.

"That is not nothing! Did somebody hurt you?" She asked softly.

"No, ok, nothing." I insisted.

Elena pulled down my shawl and noticed the marks on my back. "Did Damon hurt you?"

"No! Of course not! Just leave me alone, ok, Elena?!" I quickly walked off.

Elena noticed Damon and pushed him.

"There is something seriously wrong with you. You stay away from my sister! You got it? Stay away from her." She shouted before walking over to Stefan.

"I'm sorry. I take it all back. You're completely right about Damon, he's attacked Sophia! There are bruises all over her body. Bite marks, and he has her all confused and messed up in the head." She noticed Stefan's facial expression. "You don't look surprised."

"Um... I'm handling it." He stated.

"You knew?! You knew and you didn't tell me?!" She shook her head. "She's my sister! He should be arrested!" Elena shouted.

"Elena, please. I... I don't expect you to understand." He tried to calm her down.

"I don't understand anything, Stefan. So why don't you just clear it up for me?"

"Look, there are things that you don't know, ok? Things that I want to tell you, but I can't. And I may never be able to. And I just need you to trust me." He insisted.

"Trust is earned. I can't just magically hand it over."

Stefan noticed Sophia being dragged onto the yard by Damon.

"I'm so sorry. I have to go." He walked off.

"Damon!" He pulled me away from the crowds. "Damon!" I could tell he was angry. "Damon! She took it off and I got flustered, ok?! I didn't know what to say. But I swear, ok, I did not tell her. I just told her that you didn't mean to hurt me." I smiled.

"You make me crazy, you know that? It's okay. I forgive you." He smiled back.

"I swear I didn't say-" He put his finger on my lips.

"Shh, shh, shh. It's okay. Unfortunately... I am so over you now." He bit me again.

Sophia collapsed to the ground along with Damon. He coughed and spluttered.

Stefan walked over to him.

"What the hell?" He asked.

"You know, I couldn't spike your drink... So I spiked hers." Stefan smiled.

I woke up on the lawn. My breathing was heavy due to fear. I noticed the necklace on the grass and picked it up. Elena came running over.

"Sophia!" She shouted before helping me up. "What happened?" She asked.

"I don't know!" I said looking around.

"Sophia, what happened?" She asked again.

"I'm fine honestly."

"No. You're shaking. Sophia-What-"

"I'm fine!" I shouted.

"Sophia." She said softly.

I started to cry. Elena hugged me.

"Can we please just go home?" I asked softly.

She nodded.


	5. You're Undead To Me

"I remember the party. Damon came up behind me, and he was kissing my neck, or biting my neck. I passed out. It's like there's holes in my memory lately. It's just weird. Maybe I let him bite me." I sat on my bed. Elena and Bonnie sat infront of me.

"Why would you do that?" Asked Bonnie.

"Can we just not talk about it, ok? Don't want to talk about Damon. I don't want to talk about any of it. Just want to go back to normal. What are you doing with that candle?" I asked.

"Um... Nothing. What's this?" Bonnie noticed the crystal on the necklace.

"Damon gave it to me. Or he was going to give it to me. All I know is, it's mine now."

Sophia was off helping Caroline set up the car wash. She seemed happy.

"Unbelievable. It's like nothing happened." Said Elena.

"I've dealt with Damon." Replied Stefan. "You have every right to be upset with me. But can I explain it all to you? Please." He asked.

"Sure. When?" Asked Elena.

"I gotta be home after school, but The Grill, around four o'clock?"

"Sure." She agreed.

"Great."

I walked into the Mystic Grill.

"Sophia!" Shouted Matt.

I smiled and walked over. "Hey, Matt, um, have you seen Peter?" I asked.

"Nope. If you want to kill some time, um, you can rack. Come on. We haven't played in forever. I'll let you break."

I smiled and picked up the cue before striking the cue ball. A rainbow of balls scattered across the table leaving us with nothing to play with. "Brilliant." I laughed at my terrible attempt.

"It's not that bad." He lied.

"I found Vicki in the bathroom this morning." I laughed.

"So are Jeremy and Vicki?.." He asked.

I nodded.

"I'm not gonna lie. Your brother and my sister, that's weird."

"Tell me about it." I smirked before hitting the cue ball once again. The pink ball bounced off the cushion before falling into the oppisite pocket. "I forgot how much I loved this game." I smiled before walking round the table and pocketing the yellow ball. My next attempt at the red ball missed.

"Your good." He smiled before stepping up to the table. Matt pocketing the blue ball, the brown ball and a red ball. "Are you meeting Peter?"

I shook my head.

"Wanna talk about it?" He asked caringly.

"I don't know what to do Matt." I tried to smile but it never came. Instead I just looked down.

"You can talk to me. You know that." He smiled.

I looked at him. "I kissed Damon."

"Who's Damon?" He asked.

"Stefan's older brother." I answered. "It happened the night me and Peter got back together at the comet celebration. I don't know what to do." I broke down in tears.

"Hey." He hugged me. "You care about him. Just talk to him." He smiled.

I nodded and pulled myself together. Peter walked into the Grill. "Thanks Matt." I smiled before walking over to Peter.

"No problem."

"Sophia." He smiled.

"Hi Peter." I took a seat at one of the tables. He sat down opposite.

"What's up?" He asked.

"I need to be straight with you." I took a breath. "I kissed Damon."

"Stefan's brother?"

"Yeh." I nodded.

"When?" He asked. Peter looked hurt already.

"The night of the comet." I said softly.

"Before or after we..."

"After..."

An awkward silence plagued us for a few seconds before he laughed angrily.

"I'll kill him!" He stood up and stormed out of the Mystic Grill.

"Peter!" I shouted running after him.

Matt followed.

He was quicker than I ever remembered him being as I ran after him. "Peter please!" I shouted.

"Peter!" Shouted Matt running past me. Was I really that slow?

I stopped to catch my breath and pulled my phone out of my pocket. I rang Elena.

"Sophia." She answered.

"Elena! You need to warn Damon!" I panicked.

"Why? Sophia's what's wrong?"

"It's Peter I told him that me and Damon kissed. He's ran off threatening to kill him! Matt has ran after him." I could hear Stefan talking in the background.

"Where are you?" She asked.

"Mystic Square."

"We're coming now." She hung up.

I began to run after them once again. As I turned the corner of the building, I noticed Peter and Matt fighting. I quickly ran over and pulled them apart before standing between them. "Stop it!" I shouted. Matt's lip was bleeding and Peter seemed fine.

"What's your problem?" Matt asked wiping away the blood from his lip.

"My problem is your getting in my way." He walked off.

I checked Matt was ok before running after Peter and standing in front of him. When he tried to walk around me, I took hold of his shirt. "Peter please just listen to me."

He stopped and turned to me.

"Don't take this out on Damon, please..." I begged still trying to get him to calm down. "I love you Peter and I know I can't take back what I did but please..." I smiled. "I love you."

He smiled and put his hands on the side of my face before kissing me.

Elena and Stefan came running round the building. They stopped by Matt.

"Matt! Are you alright?" Asked Elena looking at his lip.

He nodded. "Yeah I'm fine."

"Where's Sophia?"

He pointed down the street to Peter and Sophia. They were still kissing.

"They make up fast." Smirked Stefan.

"Awww." Smiled Elena.

Peter and I walked to school. The car wash wall already in full swing when we arrived. Caroline walked over to us and began laying down the rules.

"No friend discounts. No freebies. No pay ya laters. We are not running a charity here. No, we are not." She smiled.

"Got it." I answered.

"Oh could you go and get some more towels and those shimmy things from the hall?" She asked.

I nodded before walking into the school building. As I walked through the corridor, a shadowed appeared behind me.

"Sophia..." The voice was Damon's but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Damon?" I called.

"Sophia, help me!" The voice called again.

I walked to Stefan and Damon's house before walking in and descending the stairs to the cellar.

"Sophia, help me!" He called.

"Damon? Damon? Damon?" I noticed Damon locked up in a cell. "Oh, my god! What is this? How did I know that you were here?" I asked.

"Because I wanted you to." He used the wall to support him as he stood. "Very, very badly. Let me out of here. Please." He struggled.

"You bit me." I said starting to remember what happened.

"You liked it. Remember?" He smiled.

"Why do I keep remembering the same things, but in different ways?" I asked him.

"You remember what I want you to remember. And now that the vervain has passed out of your system, you won't remember what you're about to do." He made his way over to the door of the cell.

"What am I about to do?"

He looked into my eyes. "You're gonna open the door."

I pulled back the bolt on the old wooden door.

"No! No!" A man ran over to me and tried to push the bolt back. "Get out of here. Run! Run!" He shouted.

I began running up the stairs.

Damon was soon persueing me. He was so fast as he made up the distance between us and grabbed my leg.

I kicked away his hand and darted through the living room. He ran after me. I quickly ran down the hallway and out of the door.

I closed the door behind me and darted up the stairs.

"Sophia?" I heard Jenna call.

After entering our room, I climbed onto the bed and tried to calm my breathing down. I wiped away tears and sat shaking with fear. Elena came running into the room. She sat down next to me and wrapped her arms around me.

"Sophia, what happened?" She asked softly.

I explained to her what had happened.

"Oh my god! Your coming with me."

"Where?" I asked.

"To see Stefan."

We stood on the porch of their house. Elena knocked. When Stefan opened the door I couldn't help but feel scared.

"What are you?" Elena said sternly.


	6. Lost Girls

"What are you?" She asked again.

"You know." He said softly.

"No, I don't."

"Yes, you do, or you wouldn't be here."

"Everything's telling me that it's not possible but now after everything with Sophia, It has to be."

"Everything you know... And every belief that you have is about to change. Are you ready for that?" He spoke slowly.

"What are you?" She asked again.

"I'm a vampire."

My eyes widened and my instincts told me to run but instead I just stood amazed by the apparent myth which was very much real and standing less than five feet infront of me.

"We shouldn't have come." Elena grabbed my wrist and walked away.

"No. Please." He shouted.

We walked down the driveway but Stefan suddenly appeared infront of us.

"No. No. How did you do that?" Panicked Elena.

"Please don't be afraid of me." He took Elena's hand.

"Let me go." She said trying to free her hand from his grasp.

"No. There's things that you have to know and understand." His tone sounded desperate.

"Let me go!" She pulled her hand away and we both got into the car.

"Please." He shouted.

Elena drove away.

We arrived back at the house and quickly went to our room. Elena closed the door behind us. I sat down on the bed. Suddenly Stefan appeared.

"I would never hurt you two. You're safe with me." He seemed so afraid of loosing Elena.

"All those animal attacks, those people who died-" Stated Elena.

"No. That was Damon! I don't drink human blood. That's not how I choose to survive, but Damon does! I'll explain everything to you, but I beg you, please do not tell anybody." He pleaded.

"How can you ask me that?" Elena shook her head.

"Because you knowing this is dangerous for so many reasons. You can hate me, but I need you to trust me." He said softly.

"Just go. Just go, please. Go. If you mean me no harm, then you'll go!"

"I never wanted this." He was gone in a flash.

Elena closed the window.

I sat on one of the metal tables outside the coffee shop. I saw Stefan come over. He sat down opposite. "Elena still not talking to me?" He asked.

I shook my head. "She doesn't even know I'm meeting you."

"Why are you meeting me?" I could tell that he was upset by what happened last night.

"I just want answer." I said softly.

"I can tell you whatever you wanna know." He smiled.

"Why can't I remember anything? Inside my head, all my memories are scattered. Sometimes I can remember fragments of what happened and sometimes I can't."

"Damon compelled you to do what he wanted. He must of compelled you to forget what he did to you."

"And yesterday, you mean what you said, about not wanting to hurt us."

He nodded. "I am nothing like Damon. Elena's safe with me and so are you."

"So where is Damon?" I asked curiously.

"Off causing havoc somewhere. He can't go far, I have his ring."

"Could you do one thing for me?" I asked softly.

He nodded.

"Look after Elena."

He smiled. "I will."

"You know for a vampire, your pretty soft." I smirked.

He laughed. "Elena said she wanted to meet me. Is that a good thing?" Stefan smirked.

"Knowing my sister, it could go either way." I laughed before noticing Peter "Oh boy!" I said leaning back in my seat.

"What?" He whispered.

"Peter." I mimed.

Peter walked into the coffee shop.

"I thought you'se two were fine." He smirked.

"We are it's just, well you can imagine what he will be like if he sees me talking to you and he probably still wants to kill Damon which is a very very bad idea." I laughed.

"Yeh not the best." Stefan laughed.

I noticed Elena. "Shit!"

"What now?" He smirked.

"Elena warning!" I joked.

Elena came and sat down at the table. She looked at me. "What are you doing here?" She asked sternly.

"Came to hear him out." I answered.

She sat down. "You said you would explain everything. When you Google "vampire," you get a world of fiction. What's the reality?"

"Like I said to Sophia, I can tell you whatever you wanna know." He smiled.

"I know you eat garlic."

"Yes." He nodded.

"And somehow, sunlight's not an issue." She raised an eyebrow.

"They have rings." I stated.

"Crucifixes?"

"Decorative." He answered.

"Holy water?"

"Drinkable." He smirked.

"Mirrors?"

"Myth." Stefan seemed used to these sorts of questions.

"You said you don't kill to survive."

"Animal blood keeps me alive, but not as strong as Damon. He can be very powerful."

"And yet you let him get involved with Sophia?" Said Elena sternly.

"Forcing Damon not to do something is much more dangerous, believe me."

"He was hurting her!" She shouted.

"He was feeding on her. He was able to take away her memories of being bitten using a form of mind compulsion. She never knew what was happening to her. If he wanted to kill her, he would have."

"Oh that's thoughtful of him." I said sarcastically."

"Is that supposed to make it ok?" She shouted again.

"No. No, none of this is ok, Elena. I know that." He said trying to calm her down.

"Are there any others, aside from you and Damon?" I asked curiously.

"Not in Mystic Falls; not anymore."

"Not anymore?" Asked Elena.

"There was a time when this town was... very much aware of vampires, and it didn't end well for anybody. That's why it's important that you don't tell anyone."

"I can't promise that." Elena shook her head.

"Elena... Give me today. I will answer any questions that you have, and when it's over, you can decide for yourself what you wanna do with what you know. It'll be your choice." He smiled.

Elena stood up and walked away.

"Don't worry, she come round. I'll keep your secret." I smiled.

"Thanks Sophia." He smiled. "I appreciate it."

"No problem. You promised to do something for me so I promise to do something for you."

I sat in the back of Elena's car. Stefan and Elena sat in the front.

"Stop here." Said Stefan.

I climbed out the car.

"What are we doing here?" Elena asked.

"I want to show you something."

"In the middle of nowhere?" I stated looking around.

"This... Didn't used to be nowhere. Used to be my home."

"It looks so..." Elena began.

"Old? That's because it is."

"Wait. How long have you..." I asked.

"I've been 17 years old since 1864."

"Wow!" I said amazed.

"Oh, my god." Elena looked around. I could tell she was hating this.

"You said you wanted to know. I'm not gonna hold anything back. Half a century before the boarding house was even built, this was my family's home. Damon and I... We were both born here. The Salvatore brothers. We used to be best of friends. Then we met Katherine."

"You knew Katherine in 1864? Damon made it seem like..."

"Damon was trying to make you think that... I was still heartbroken. He saw that I was happy with you, and he wanted to ruin it." He said softly.

"All because you loved the same women 145 years ago?" She raised an eyebrow.

"She wasn't just any girl, she was a vampire. When Damon returned from battle, she asked us to escort her to the founder's ball. She chose me. I escorted her to the ball at the original Lockwood mansion."

"The first founder's party... Where you signed the registry." I said remembering the display at the Lockwood mansion.

"I didn't care that I had gotten something that my brother wanted. I didn't even care if it hurt him. I only knew that I wanted her."

"So he was upset." I said actually beginning to feel sorry for him slightly.

"That's the thing about Damon. He doesn't get mad. He just gets even. What Damon wants, Damon usually gets. I didn't know it at the time, but... Turns out that night... Katherine was with him, too."

"So he stole her from you, not the other way around?" Asked Elena.

"Turns out she wasn't ours to steal. She could control my mind; and Damon's. She compelled each of us to keep the secret from the other. She wanted all of us to be together. Forever. Didn't work out that way, but... Damon and I, looks like we're stuck with each other... Like it or not." He took Damon's ring out of his pocket. "I took this from him, but I have to give it back."

"No, don't, Stefan. Keep it hidden." Said Elena.

"Elena, if I don't give it to him, he'll retaliate in the only way that he knows he can hurt me." He said sadly.

"And how is that?" Asked Elena.

"By hurting you." I answered.

We walked across the field of the old Salvatore mansion.

"The mind control... The thing you said Damon used on Sophia and Katherine used. Do you ever do that to me?" She asked.

"No. That necklace, it contains an herb called vervain. It protects you from being compelled. I wanted to protect you from Damon's influence. But I also wanted to... Protect you from me. Elena, you should never take that necklace off... Because no matter what happens after today, no matter how you feel about me... You'll know that you were free to make your own choice." He said instructively but softly.

"What about Sophia?" Elena asked.

"I can easily make you one too." He smiled turning to me.

I nodded. "Thanks."

When we returned to the house, we found the door open. Walking in, everyone was in the kitchen.

"What's going on?" I asked walking into the kitchen.

"She's really messed up." Said Matt. He sounded scared.

"Sophia, back up."

I walked away from Vicki.

"Vicki, look at me. Focus. You're gonna be fine. Everything's gonna be fine. Guys, take her up to bed. Shut the blinds. She's gonna be ok. Come on. Come on." Stefan instructed.

"You know what's wrong with her?" I asked.

"Yeah." He answered.

"It's Damon isn't it."

He nodded. "She's transitioning."

"Into a vampire?!" My eyes widened.

"Yeh. Damon must have gotten to her. She's new. She hasn't completed her transformation yet."

"How does she do that?" I asked.

"She has to feed on human blood."

"And if she doesn't." I didn't really want an answer to my question.

"She'll die. She may only have a few hours."

"Elena!" I shouted rushing over to her. "Jeremy's with Vicki.

Elena ran up the stairs.

When I followed her up the stairs, I noticed Jeremy.

"She was fine, and then she just- she just freaked out." Said Jeremy.

I turned to Stefan. "She doesn't know what's happening to her yet?"

"No. Right now, she doesn't remember anything. A part of her is still human, but slowly, the deeper she gets into the transition, the memories will start to come back, and then she'll know she has to make the choice."

"The same choice you made?" Asked Elena.

He nodded.

"I'm gonna go look for her. Call me if you hear anything." Matt began walking down the stairs.

"Ok." I nodded.

"I can track her." Stated Stefan.

"Then let's go." They also left.

I sat with Jeremy.

"Maybe we should check in with Matt." He suggested.

"He'll call when he finds her." I smiled.

"Well, what are we supposed to do?"

"We wait." I heard a knock at the door and walked down the stairs. Opening the door revealed Damon. "Jeremy, go upstairs." I shouted.

He did what I said and went upstairs.

"You're afraid of me. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess. Stefan finally fessed up to Elena." He grinned.

"Stay away from me. I know you've already messed up my head but your not going to hurt Elena or Jeremy." I said sternly.

"Hey, there's no need to be rude. I'm just looking for Stefan. May I come in? Oh, wait. Of course I can. I've been invited. We can cut to the chase if you want. I'm not gonna kill you or your sister right now. That wouldn't serve my greater agenda. So... Where's Stefan?" He looked around.

"He's out looking for Vicki."

"Don't look at me like that. Girl's gonna thank me for what I did to her."

"Did you thank Katherine?" I stated strongly.

"Mmm. Got the whole life story, huh?"

"Enough of it."

"Oh, I doubt that. Tell my brother I'm looking for him. Oh, tip for later, be careful who you invite in the house." He left.

I noticed Elena and Stefan outside. I walked down the stairs and out of the house. "Did you find her?" I asked.

"I couldn't stop her. I tried." Stefan looked distraught.

"You couldn't stop her? Stop her from doing what?" My eyes widened.

"Feeding." He said softly.

"So she's a vampire?" I felt so bad for Jeremy.

Stefan nodded.

"Where is she now?" I looked up at Jeremy's window. When he noticed me, he walked out of view.

"We don't know." Elena came into the conversation.

"I'll take care of it. I'll find her, and I will show her that she can live like I do. I will make sure that she does not hurt anybody. I promise you." He smiled softly.

"What do we tell Jeremy?" I asked.

"We'll come up with a story."

"You mean we'll come up with a lie." Said Elena sternly.

"I'm so sorry." He pleaded.

"I gave you today just like you asked. And I understand that you would never do anything to hurt us, and I promise I will keep your secret, but... I can't be with you, Stefan. I'm sorry. I- I just can't..." She walked into the house.

I didn't know what to do. "Stefan she..." I began to say softly.

"Go after her." He smiled.

"Will you be?..."

"I'll be fine. Go."

I smiled before running into the house and closing the door. Elena way sitting on the floor crying. I sat down beside her and put my arm around her.


	7. Haunted

I stretched as I awoke before pulling back the covers and walking to the bathroom. "Sorry." I said as I noticed Jeremy.

"Oh, no, it's cool, I'm done." He began walking out.

"You're up early. Where are you going?" I asked.

"Police station. They're organizing the search party for Vicki, so..." He smiled.

"Wait. Shouldn't you be going to school?" I raised an eyebrow.

"What? You're kidding me, right ?"

"No of course I'm not kidding. You shouldn't skip school. If they find her, we'll know. That's what phones are for."

"Yeah, your lips keep movin'. I don't know why." He walked off.

I knocked on the door of the boarding house. Damon answered.

"Is Stefan here?" I asked.

"Good morning to you too Sophia." He smiled.

"I'm really not in the mood. Is Stefan here?"

"Yep!" He answered.

"Well can I come in then?"

Damon stood back from the door. "He's upstairs singing "the rain in Spain". Knock yourself out." He walked out closing the door behind him.

I walked down the hallway. "Stefan? Stefan?"

Vicki approached me in the corridor. "Hi Sophia. Jeremy's phone's dead." She moaned.

"Vicki, you can't see Jeremy anymore. Well at least not right now." I said softly.

"Oh come on don't you start. I'm gonna see whoever I wanna see." She said angrily.

"Even though you could hurt him?"

"I would never hurt Jeremy." Her tone of voice was aggressive.

"I know you think that but we can't take that risk." I said trying to calm her down.

"Oh really? And how long have you and Elena been preparing the "you're not good enough" speech? I'm assuming it predates the whole vampire thing."

"All I am saying is don't get Jeremy involved in this."

She grabbed me by the throat and slammed me against the wall. "Let's get one thing straight, you perky little bitch. I'm gonna see Jeremy whenever I wanna see Jeremy, and I won't think twice about ripping your little head off. You got it?" She let go of my neck allowing me to breath. I coughed and spluttered as the air refilled my lungs.

Stefan walked down the corridor and noticed me. "You alright?" He asked.

I nodded. "How long will it be before she settles down?" I coughed.

"There's no rule book." He answered in a tone that suggested my question was stupid.

"Half the town is out looking for her. Jeremy's distraught. I can't keep lying to him. It's not fair on him."

"Jeremy can't see her, not now. She might not be able to resist him, and she could hurt him."

"I know that but what are we going to do? They're going to want to see each other Stefan." I said softly.

"I know just give me some more time. I'll sort this. I'm not gonna let anybody get hurt." He smiled.

I nodded before smiling. "Thanks Stefan."

I heard a knock at the door and walked down the stairs. Opening the door revealed a very excited Caroline and Bonnie. "Happy Halloween!" Grinned Caroline.

"You too." I smiled before stepping back from the door.

"Elena!" I shouted up the stairs.

Elena came down the stairs.

"Did you get the costumes?" I asked.

Caroline nodded. "Bonnie, your a witch." She handed Bonnie her costume.

"Great thanks." Bonnie said unenthusiastically.

"Sophia, your Wonder Woman." Caroline handed me two large bags. One contained the costume while the other consisted of various accessories.

"Thanks Caroline." I smiled. "Come on the party starts in half an hour."

Walking into the party, Bonnie and Caroline departed from us as they went over to talk to the various seniors by the cider. Elena noticed Stefan and walked over to him leaving me by myself. "Thanks Elena." I said under my breath.

"Let me guess. Wonder Woman." Said a voice from behind me.

I turned to see Damon. "Can you not do that? Your going to give me a heart attack." I smirked.

"You seem lonely." He smiled.

"Well there's not much I can do when Bonnie and Caroline go off to flirt and Elena goes off to see her boyfriend."

He handed me a cup of cider.

"Why are you even here Damon? You don't even attend." I smirked before downing the cup.

"Keeping an eye on my little brother." He said sarcastically before laughing.

"Yes because Stefan really needs looking after. If anything, he should be keeping an eye on you."

"You really think I would rip someone's throat out? In front of everyone at this party?" He raised an eyebrow. "I'm not stupid!" He smiled. "I saw Jeremy earlier. He hasn't exactly got into the spirit of things with his costume."

"Jeremy's here!" I exclaimed.

"What's wrong with that?" He asked furrowing an eyebrow.

"Vicki's here!" I shouted before running through the crowds of people. "Elena!"

She turned to me. "What's wrong?"

"Jeremy's here!" I panicked.

"What?!" Her eyes widened.

Stefan joined the conversation. "We need to find him! Me and Elena will look in the woods. Find Damon and check the party." He instructed.

I nodded before racing back over to Damon. "Damon! I need your help!"

"My help?" He questioned.

"Yes your help! I need to find Jeremy before Vicki does!" I said panicking. "Please Damon."

"Ok." He nodded.

I desperately searched through the crowds in search of Jeremy. "Jeremy!" I shouted.

Damon took hold of my arm.

I turned to him. "He's not here!" I was close to tears from the fear of him being hurt by Vicki.

"Hey." He said softly. "We'll find him. I promise."

My phone rang. 'Elena'. I answered quickly. "Elena!"

"Sophia, have you found him?" She asked.

"No, he's not here." I answered.

I noticed Damon's staring at something.

"What is it?" I asked him taking the phone away from my ear.

"There!" He pointed before running off.

I quickly sprinted after him. "Sophia! Sophia!" I heard Elena shouting down the phone. I simply ignored her as we made our way round the back of the school building. I noticed Vicki attacking Jeremy. "Jeremy!" I screamed.

Damon sped over to her and threw her back against the wall of the school.

I reached Jeremy and pulled him up. "You ok?" I asked.

He nodded.

Vicki made a run for me but Damon blocked her path.

"Get inside!" Shouted Damon. "Go!"

Jeremy ran to the back entrance. "Sophia!" He shouted opening the door.

"Just go!"

He quickly ran inside.

When I turned to Damon, Vicki was nowhere to be seen. "Where'd she go?" I asked.

Suddenly, I felt myself being thrown backwards before I collided with the side of the school bus. Something bit into my neck. I screamed in pain as I felt my blood being sucked from me. The sensation made me feel woozy before my legs gave way and I toppled to the ground. Consciousness stayed with me as the pain intensified. I heard the sound of gurgling before I saw Vicki fall to the ground shrivelled and with a stake through her heart. I gasped.

Damon knelt down in front of me. "Hang in there Sophia." He bit his wrist before putting his hand behind my head and holding his bleeding wrist to my mouth.

The wound on my neck disappeared. When he took his wrist away, I looked into his blue eyes and smiled. "Thank you." I said softly, still weak. The pain came mostly from where I had collided with the bus.

Damon smiled back before lifting me into his arms. "Let's get you home." He said softly.

I smiled before resting my head against his chest.

**-Damon's POV-**

Sophia had fallen asleep in my arms by time I reached the Gilbert house. The door was unlocked so I walked in. I lay Sophia down on the couch gently. I heard the door opening and walked into hallway. Stefan walked in closely followed by Elena.

"Where is she?" Asked Elena.

I put my finger in front of my lips to try and signal for her to speak quietly. "She's in the living room."

Elena walked into the living room and knelt down in front of her.

**-Sophia's POV-**

I began to stir as I sensed someone's presense. I looked through half open eyes at Elena.

"Sophia." Smiled Elena before she gently embraced me in a hug. "Are you alright?" She asked softly.

I nodded.

"I was so worried." She said still shaking.

"Honestly I'm fine." I smiled.

I heard the door open and looked over the back of the couch. Jeremy walked upstairs. I slowly got up before following him. "Jeremy." I called softly.

He walked into his room and sat down on the bed.

I sat down beside him before pulling him in. He rested his head against my shoulder.

"Vicki's dead!" His broken voice was filled with pain.

"I'm so sorry, Jer." I said softly.

"Why? Why did he do it?" He asked sternly.

"She was going to kill me." I replied.

His eyes looked close to tears. "Why does everybody have to die on me?"

When those words left his lips, I felt my heart break. "Oh, my god. Come here." I pulled him into a hug before I also began crying.

**-Stefan's POV-**

The streets seemed peaceful as I sat on the steps of the porch. Elena came and sat down next to me.

"Are you ok?" I asked sensitively.

"I want you to make them forget!" She had clearly been thinking this through.

"Elena..." I began.

"Stefan, please. I don't know how they'll ever get past this. I just want them to forget everything that has happened."

"If I did it, there's no guarantee that it would work...Because of who I am. Because of how I live. I don't have the ability to do it right." I felt useless.

Damon walked over to us. "I can do it. If this is what you want...I'll do it."

"It's what I want." Confirmed Elena.

"But I won't compel Sophia." He cleared up.

"But Damon, she doesn't deserve to have to live like this." Said Elena softly. Her emotions were beginning to show.

"Sophia deserves the right to make her own decisions."

"Says you!" She shouted. "A few weeks ago, you were using her for blood and compelling her to forgot!"

Damon ignored her. "What do you want Jeremy to know?" He asked.

"I want you to tell him that Vicki left town and she's not coming back. That he shouldn't look for her or worry about her. He's gonna miss her, but he knows it's for the best." Tears streamed down Elena's cheeks as she spoke.

Damon nodded before walking inside.

**-Sophia's POV-**

I returned to Jeremy's room to find Damon sitting next to him. "Damon?"

"...you'll miss her, but you know it's for the best." Said Damon.

Jeremy nodded.

"Damon?" I asked again. "Damon what did you just do?" I pulled him away from Jeremy.

"I compelled him to forget." He answered softly.

"What?..." My voice seemed so weak as it struggled due to my now tearful eyes.

"Sophia it's..."

"No!" I cut him off. "Don't say it's for the best. You can't just do that to him! What if he remembers?" I asked.

"He won't." Damon spoke so caringly.

"Why?..." My voice began to break again. "Why did you do it?" A few thoughts ran through my mind. "Did Elena tell you to do this?" I asked.

"Sophia..." He tried to put his hand on my shoulder but I walked off in search of Elena.

I found her on the porch with Stefan. "Why?..." I shouted tearfully at her.

Damon ran out onto the porch. "Sophia, she was just trying to help him." He said softly.

She walked up to me before wrapping her arms around my neck and whispering in my ear. "He doesn't deserve to have to live like this Sophia. He deserves a better life."

I nodded before wiping away tears with the sleeve of my arm. I walked over to Damon. "I'm sorry." I said softly.

"For what?" He asked.

"Overreacting like that. You were just trying to help him."

"You have nothing to apologise for Sophia." He smiled. "You were just being a good sister. Jeremy's very lucky to have you and Elena."

"I don't think Jeremy would agree." I smirked.

"Then Jeremy's an idiot." He laughed. "Come with me." Damon walked round the side of the house.

I turned to Stefan and Elena. Everything seemed tense. "I'm gonna go see if Jeremy's alright. I'll see you around Damon." I smiled before beginning to walk into the house.

He gently took hold of my arm.

I turned to face him and as I did, he kissed me. And with that, he was gone.


	8. 162 Candles

I walked down the stairs and entered the living room. Peter sat on the couch.

He turned to me and smiled. "Hi."

"Peter. What are you doing here?" I asked embarrassed by the fact I was still in my pjs.

"Came to see you." He stood up and walked over before hugging me.

Jenna walked into the room and noticed my expression. "Sophia your grounded remember."

"But Jenna." I moaned.

"No buts. Sorry Peter." She walked off into the kitchen.

"Sorry." I apologised to him.

"It's fine don't worry." It was obvious that he was upset. Peter walked into the hallway. I opened the door for him. "I'll see you around." He smiled.

I nodded before closing the door. Jenna walked over.

"Thank you so much." I wrapped my arms around her.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

We sat down at the bench in the kitchen. I explained to her about how me and Damon kissed. When I finished, she sighed. "It's not fair on Peter."

"Jenna, I don't know what to do. Not anymore." I buried my head in my arms.

"Hey." She stroked my hair. "Do what you think is right."

I looked up. "What if doing what's right ends up hurting someone you care about?" I asked softly.

"Make the best of a bad situation." She smirked.

I walked down the driveway of the boarding house before knocking on the door.

"It's open! Come on in." I heard someone shout.

Walking in, a blonde girl stood in a towel. "Oh My God! How...Who?"

"Emmm...I'm Sophia." I said confused as to who this girl was. "Is Damon here?"

She nodded. "In his room."

**-Stefan's POV-**

Lexi didn't speak as she got changed but looked furious as she entered the room. "Are you out of your freaking mind?" She asked sternly.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"I just met Sophia." She held up a photo of Katherine. "Does Elena look like Sophia by any chance?"

"It's not what you think."

"You have some serious emotional damage." She smirked. "They must be related to Katherine!" Lexi sat down on my bed.

"I don't know." I truthfully answered.

"You don't know or you didn't find out?" She enquired further.

"No. Maybe. I don't want to know. I have no desire to tie Elena and Sophia to Katherine." I noticed Lexi's facial expression. "Ok yes, yes the resemblance is what drew me to Elena. But that's it. Katherine, Sophia and Elena may look the same on the outside but on the inside they are completely different." I smiled.

"So Elena and Sophia aren't raging bitches then, huh?" She smirked.

"No. Elena's warm and she's kind, and she's caring, and she's selfless. Sophia is brave, forgiving, fun to be around..."

"And in love with Damon." She furrowed an eyebrow.

"You got that from the short time you spoke?" I smirked.

She nodded. "It wasn't difficult. Anyway getting back to you and Elena."

"Honestly when I'm around her... I- I completely forget what I am." I smiled.

"Oh My god! You're in love with her." She grinned.

"Yeah. Yeah, I am."

**-Sophia's POV-**

I walked into Damon's room. "Damon?" I called.

He walked in from the bathroom. "Sophia." He smiled.

"Who?" I asked him.

"Lexi. Friend of Stefan's." He answered.

"Oh.

"Hey do you wanna come to a party at the grill. Caroline's hosting."

"Sure."

As we walked into the grill, Damon walked off to talk to Caroline. I noticed Stefan and walked over. "Hey." I smiled.

"Hey." He replied.

"Happy birthday! I forgot to say earlier. I would've but everything seemed a bit awkward..." I smirked.

"Thanks and Lexi said you stopped by."

"Right. The girl in the towel."

His face went beetroot red. "The towel?...Oh no no no no not like that, she's not exactly a girl-Lexi's just 350 years old" He cleared up.

"You mean she's a..." My eyes widened.

"And she's my oldest friend. Nothing romantic. Ever." He laughed.

"Oh, okay, well...she kept staring at me. It was weird." I laughed before noticing he seemed upset. "Stefan could I ask you something?"

"Anything." He smiled.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Birthdays seem a little pointless when you have had 162 of them." He smiled.

"You know I don't believe that?" I said softly. "Stefan you can talk to me." I went out on a limb. "Has something happened between you and Elena?"

"Elena and I broke up." He said sadly.

"What?" My eyes widened once again. "When?"

"Last night."

I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. '1 New Message From Elena'. I opened the message. 'Fancy a girls night in with Bonnie?' I locked my phone and stuffed it back into my pocket.

"You not going to reply to that?" He smirked.

I shook my head. My phone vibrated again. '1 New Message From Peter'. "For god sake leave me alone!" I said angrily before opening the message. 'Party at the grill! Sneak out?'. I locked my phone and put it in my pocket once again.

"Or that one?" Stefan laughed.

"No." I grabbed a bottle of beer from one of the waitresses trays and downed half of it. "I'm here to celebrate your birthday!" I smiled.

Elena walked into the grill. She walked over to me.

"Hey. What are you doing here?" Asked Stefan kindly.

"I just came to find Sophia." She answered.

"Elena talk to me." He said sadly.

"Stefan I can't, and that's the problem. I'm keeping all these secrets from everyone. I can't even tell my best friend. Do you know how hard that is? It's like I need to talk to someone but the only person I can talk to is you."

"You can talk to me." I added wondering why she had left me out of that statement.

"I want you to know that I will always be here for you. You can come to me about anything okay?"

She nodded.

"Why do you want to talk?" I asked angrily due to the way she was treating Stefan. I took another drink from the bottle.

"I need to talk to you." She said quietly.

"Elena there isn't really a point in whispering. This place has at least three vampires in it." I said quiet enough so those around us couldn't hear the vampire part of the sentence.

"I know but I just want to talk to you."

"We can talk later, right now i'm celebrating Stefan's birthday."

"Oh, I'll leave you to it then." She said sadly before turning to Stefan. "Happy birthday." Elena walked away.

"You should have talked to her." Said Stefan softly.

"Yeah well she's not my main priority right now." I finished my drink. "You are."

Lexi came over. "Sophia right?"

I nodded as music started playing loudly. I smiled. "Come on."

"Come on where?" He asked.

"You must be able to dance." I grinned. "You've had enough time to practice."

"Trust me he can." Smirked Lexi.

"Yeah, not really interested in making a fool out of myself." Answered Stefan.

"Come on Stefan." I smiled.

"Come on, you're not that bad." Lexi pulled Stefan over to where everyone was dancing.

"Fine, but tell me if you see Damon with his phone out." He laughed.

Me, Stefan and Lexi sat round one of the wooden tables in the grill.

"Who's round is it?" I asked finishing my third bottle of beer.

"Lexi." Answered Stefan before wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"Fine." She smiled before walking off to the bar.

**-Lexi's POV-**

"Three shots of tequila." I turned to notice Elena walking up to the bar. "Make that four."

"I need to see some ID." Asked the barman.

"No you don't." I looked into his eyes.

"That'll be..." He began.

"Free!" I compelled him once again.

"On the house." He smiled.

"Thanks." I smiled back before handing one of the shot glasses to Elena. "Oh! The famous Elena." I joked.

"I didn't know that you guys could drink."

"Oh yeah, it helps curb the cravings, but makes for a lot of lushy vamps." I smirked.

"I've never seen Stefan drunk. He always seem so..."

"Uptight?" I answered.

"Yeah, But not with you and Sophia." She looked jealous.

"Well that the benefit for knowing someone for over a hundred years. You can just be yourself. As for Sophia, she's just being a good friend." I smiled.

"Yeah he can't be himself with me but somehow my sister can just become close friends with anyone she meets." She looked down.

"Well not yet. The first step was him telling you. The rest comes with time." I said comfortingly.

"You seem so sure."

"The love of my life was human. He went through, what I imagine you're going through: denial, anger et cetera...But at the end of the day love really did conquer all." I indicated to her drink. "Are you going to drink that?" I asked.

"Go for it." She handed me back the drink. "I'm just scared."

"But you're here...'cause your crazy about him, I get it okay? I mean what's not to love." We both turned. Sophia and Stefan were both in hysterical laughter. "Listen. Take it from someone who's been around a long time. When it's real, you can't walk away."

"Thanks Lexi, it was really nice meeting you" She smiled before walking away.

I returned to the table and handed Stefan and Sophia a shot. "Drink up!" I drank both of the remaining shots.

Stefan and Sophia downed theirs.

I noticed Damon looking suspicious by the bar. "Be right back." Walking over to him, he slid a shot glass down the bar to me.

"Still inflicting misery onto the world?" I asked.

"I have a diabolical master plan." He smiled in that typical Damon way.

"What is it?" I furrowed an eyebrow.

"If I told you it wouldn't be very diabolical, now would it?"

Pain arose in my neck as someone injected me with vervain. I immediately felt weak. The sheriff's deputies grabbed me before dragging me out of the grill.

**-Sophia's POV-**

"Lexi!" I gasped before running off after her.

Stefan raced after me.

I ran towards the back door of the grill but Peter stood in my way. "Peter!" I shouted. "Now is not the time!" I barged past him before removing the bar across the door of the fire exit and running out. I saw Lexi fighting off the officers. "Don't hurt her!" Tears ran down my cheeks. Sheriff Forbes raised her gun ready to shoot. "No!" I ran between Sheriff Forbes and Lexi so she couldn't fire.

"Sophia!" Said Sheriff Forbes sternly. "If you don't move my deputies will have to take action against you."

"Please don't hurt her!" I begged tearfully.

"Sophia! I will not tell you again! Move away!" Repeated Sheriff Forbes.

I stood strong but inside I felt weak.

Sheriff Forbes raised her gun and fired.

I screamed and ducked as the bullet narrowly missed me.

"Stop!" Screamed Stefan as he ran over to me.

"Stefan! Could you please assist Sophia home!" She said sternly.

My body shook from fear. I didn't know whether she aimed to miss or simply missed. I turned to Lexi. She looked so venerable. In the corner of my eye I saw Damon but before I could react, he stabbed a stake through Lexi's heart.

"No!" I gasped before running towards Damon and Lexi.

Stefan grabbed me round the stomach and held me back.

I kicked and squirmed as I tried to free myself from Stefan's grasp. A waterfall of tears cascaded down my face. "Lexi!" I cried.

Lexi fell to the ground as her skin began to shrivel.

"Take her home Stefan!" Demanded Sheriff Forbes.

Stefan carried me round the side of the grill before sitting me down against the wall. He knelt down in front of me. His eyes were full of pain and he looked so distraught. He also looked so worried about me.

"He killed her! He killed Mr Tanner! He turned Vicki!" I cried.

"That's why I'm going to kill him!" He said angrily.

"No, you can't do that!" I held his arm comfortingly.

"Why are you trying to save him?! Sophia he's never gonna change! Don't you see that?! He's never gonna change!" Rage flowed through him as he spoke. It caused me to feel afraid even though I knew Stefan would never hurt me.

"I'm not trying to save him, I'm trying to save you! You have no idea what this will do to you, please Stefan...Be better than him!" I pleaded for the sake of his humanity.

"Everywhere I go, pain and death follows; Damon follows me. No more." He stood up and paced back and forwards.

"Stefan please. Please just- just talk to me; i'm here for you. Talk to me." I said softly.

"I don't know what to do anymore Sophia. This town isn't safe as long as Damon is in it."

I too stood up and wrapped my arms around his neck before resting my head on his shoulder.

He wrapped his arms around me loosely but his grip became firmer as his emotions began to pour out. "I know my brother! This will just be the start. He won't stop until everyone I care about is dead. I can't let that happen."

"Then we'll think of something." I suggested. "No matter what you say Stefan he is always going to be your brother." I pulled back and looked into his eyes. "Blood runs thicker than water." I smiled at him softly. "Goodnight Stefan."

"Goodnight."


	9. History Repeating

Peter was stood next to my locker. I took a deep breath before walking down the corridor.

"You've been dodging my calls." He said sadly.

"Yeh well I've been busy." I turn the dial of the lock entering my combination. As I tried to pull the door open, it wouldn't budge. "For god's sake!" I cursed.

Peter took hold of the handle and pulled it open with ease.

"Thanks."

"I thought you were grounded yesterday." He asked.

"I was..."

"Then why were you with Stefan?"

"Jenna ungrounded me and I went to celebrate Stefan's birthday." I looked into his eyes. "Peter I just need some time. So much has happened recently and..."

"When are you going to admit it to yourself?" He stated strongly.

"What?" I asked furrowing an eyebrow.

"You don't love me anymore Sophia. I've seen you with Damon and Stefan. You're not like that around me."

"Peter I..." I began.

"Just don't..." He walked off.

"Damn it!" I threw my history book into the locker before slamming it closed.

"What's up?" Asked Bonnie as she walked over.

"Nothing." I walked out of the school doors and noticed Stefan sitting at one of the tables.

"Hi." He smiled as I approached him.

"You weren't in class, Elena is panicking. Is everything alright?" I asked softly.

"Yeah, I got her texts, she'll be panicking because I haven't got back to her. The thing is, what I wanna say shouldn't be said over the phone."

That sounded ominous. "What do you want to say?"

"I won't be coming to school anymore.I'm gonna back off and keep my 's the right thing to do."

My eyes widened. "What?!" I exclaimed. "Are you backing off from school or from Elena?"

"It's better this way-" He began.

"No, no it's not! You and Elena are perfect together. I'm not just going to let you throw that all away just because of what happened with Lexi. I know she was your friend, but please think about this."

"It's for the best." Stefan seemed so emotionless.

"The best for you or Elena?" I shook my head and walked off. It was just going to be one of those days.

I walked down the street still angry from my conversation with Stefan. The sound of a horn came from behind me.

"Want a lift?" Came a voice.

I turned to see Bonnie. "Sure." I climbed into the car.

"Does Elena know?" Bonnie questioned after I had explained to her what had happened with Stefan.

I shook my head. "No, not yet." I noticed that she seemed tense. "Are you alright?" I asked.

"I bumped into Damon earlier. He really scares me." She answered.

"What did he want?"

"The necklace." Bonnie took the necklace out from her pocket and handed it to me. "I don't know why he needs it so badly."

"Either do I. But I have an idea." I smiled. "Pull up here."

Bonnie drove up at the side of the road. I got out of the car and walked into the large corn field before throwing the necklace away. "Problem solved." I laughed before getting back into the car.

"Hey can I stay at yours tonight? I normally wouldn't want to ask but with Damon around, I don't feel safe here anymore." She asked.

I nodded. "Of course. You said that like I was going to say no." I smirked.

Later that evening, Bonnie arrived at the house. Elena had also invited Caroline. After ordering pizza, we went upstairs and sat on Elena's bed waiting for it to be delivered.

"Did you speak to Stefan today?" I asked.

Elena nodded. "You knew about that?"

"Yeah. I thought it would be best if he talked to you himself." I explained.

"We talked and then he said that he had to go and talk to Damon about Bonnie's necklace."

"Me and Bonnie threw it away." I smirked.

"You threw it away?!" Exclaimed Caroline.

"I know it sounds crazy but the necklace was giving me nightmares." Bonnie spoke up.

"You could have just given it back to me." Caroline commented.

"Why? So you could give it back to Damon?" I questioned.

"Screw Damon, he's a creep. Are we going to do manicures or not?" Caroline walked over to Bonnie's make up bag to find the kit. "So Elena. How long do you think this fight with Stefan's gonna last? Is it...like a permanent thing?"

"I don't know Caroline." Answered Elena.

"Why are you such a little liar, Sophia?" Shouted Caroline.

"Caroline!" Said Bonnie sternly.

Caroline held up the necklace.

"I'm not a liar!" I shouted.

"It's true. I watched her throw it into a field." Bonnie said in my defense.

"Then explain it!"

"Emily." Bonnie muttered under her breath.

"Who's Emily?" Asked Elena.

"The ghost." She looked to me.

"I have an idea. Why don't we have a séance?" Suggested Caroline.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Bonnie worried.

"Come on. Let's summon some spirits!" Caroline grinned.

We sat on the floor of the bedroom in a circle.

"What are we doing?" Bonnie whispered to me.

"I don't know."

"Be quiet and concentrate. Close your take a deep breathe. Bonnie. Call to her." Caroline instructed.

"Emily. I call on you. I know you have a message. I'm here to listen." Bonnie spoke.

The candle began to flare up.

"Did that just..." Began Elena.

"Yeah, it just happened." I nodded nervously.

"It's just the air conditioning." Bonnie quickly stated.

"Ask her to show you a sign. Ask her. Emily if you're among us, show us another sign." Spoke Caroline.

Nothing happened.

"See? It's not working." Bonnie said defeatedly.

The window swung open with a bang.

"That's it, I'm done!" Bonnie threw the necklace onto the floor. The candles exstinguished. "Get the light. Please get the light on." She begged.

"Hold on. I got it." Elena flicked the light on.

"You guys, the necklace, it's gone." Caroline stated.

"Okay, fun's over, Caroline. You made a point, and I get it. Now give it back." Elena warned.

"What? Well, I didn't take it. What happened?" She asked.

"Jeremy might be pulling a prank on us." I suggested before walking onto the landing. "Jeremy, are you home?"

"Guys..." Said Bonnie as she ran into the bathroom. The door slammed shut. "You guys open the door. Help me." She screamed.

"Bonnie!" I took hold of the door handle and tried to turn it but it wouldn't budge. "Bonnie!" I desperately tried to open the door. "What's going on, Bonnie?"

"Bonnie!" Caroline screamed.

"I'll try the other door." Elena ran off.

"Bonnie! Bonnie! Unlock the door!" Caroline banged on the door.

The door opened. Bonnie looked fine.

"What happened? Are you okay?" I asked.

"I'm fine." She answered.

"Unbelievable. You were totally faking it!" Caroline said angrily.

"Caroline. Come on!" Elena scorned as she walked back to the bathroom.

"No, you scared the hell out of me." Caroline grabbed her stuff and stormed out of the house.

Something about her seemed odd. "Bonnie?" I asked.

"I'm fine. Everything's fine." She reassured. "I have to go."

"Where are you going?" Elena worried.

"Back to where it all began." Bonnie walked off down the stairs.

"Bonnie! Bonnie!" Elena shouted after her.

Then it hit me. "Elena, she's possessed! It's Emily!"

"I won't let him have must be destroyed." Spoke Emily.

"Wait!" I ran after her.

Emily opened the door and walked out of the house.

As I tried to open the door, it wouldn't give.

"What's happening?" Asked Elena.

"I don't know. The door, it's not..." I was knocked backwards as the door opened.

Elena helped me up from the floor. Jeremy entered the house.

"What the hell?" He furrowed an eyebrow.

"Elena, call Stefan." I instructed.

Elena took out her phone.

"What's wrong?" Stefan answered.

"It's Bonnie."

"What happened?" His tone was fear filled.

I took the phone from her. "I threw the necklace away this morning so Damon couldn't find it. Somehow, it showed up here and now Emily is possessing her. She said 'I won't let him have it. It must be destroyed.'" I explained.

"Where do you think she went?" He asked.

"I don't know, Fell's church, maybe. She told me that in her dreams, Emily took her to the old cemetery." Elena took the phone from me.

"We have to help her Stefan." She pleaded.

"Just stay there. I'm gonna go find her." Stefan hung up.

I put on my coat and grabbed my cars keys.

"Where are you going?" Asked Elena.

"Out." I left the house and drove quickly to Fell's Church.

I ran through the forest. She had to be here somewhere.

"Uhhh!" I heard someone groan.

Looking around, I saw Damon stuck in one of the trees with a branch piercing through his stomach.

"Oh my god!" I gasped before rushing to him.

"Sophia..." He struggled in pain.

"It's okay Damon..." I reassured before pulling him down from the tree.

"Ahhh, that hurts!" He fell to the ground. "Thank you."

"Stefan." Spoke a voice from behind me.

I turned to see Bonnie and Stefan.

"Hello Emily." He replied.

"These people don't deserve this. They should never have to know such evil." Emily said sternly.

"What do you mean evil?" Questioned Stefan.

"Emily. I swear to God I'll make you regret this." Damon warned.

"I won't let you unleash them into this world." She responded.

"Unleash them?" I furrowed an eyebrow. "What are you unleashing?" I asked.

"What part of the story did you leave out Damon?" Stefan asked.

I didn't understand what they were talking out.

"What does it matter?" Damon struggled to his feet.

"Emily, tell me what you did." Stefan walked towards her.

"To save her, I had to save them." Spoke Emily.

Who's her?

"You saved everyone in the church?" Exclaimed Stefan.

"With one, comes all." Emily explained.

"I don't care about them. I just want Katherine." Damon stated.

Who's Katherine?

"I knew I shouldn't have believed a single word that comes out of your mouth. This isn't about love, is it? This is about revenge." Stefan said scornfully.

I felt almost hurt. The moments that me and Damon had shared together seemed worthless. He never had feelings for me, he has only ever cared about her.

"Damon, you can't do this!" He walked over to him.

"Why not? They killed 27 people, and they called it a war battle. They deserve whatever they get." Shouted Damon.

"27 Vampires, Damon. They were vampires. You can't just bring them back." Stefan stated.

My eyes widened.

"This town deserves this." Damon added.

"You're blaming innocent people for something that happened 145 years ago."

"There is nothing innocent about these people, and don't think for a second it won't happen again. They already know too much, and they'll burn your little grandwitch right next to us when they find out. Trust me." Damon grabbed hold of Stefan as he stumbled slightly.

"Things are different now." Emily spoke up.

"Don't do this." He begged.

"I can't free them. I won't. Incendia!" Flames burnt in a star shape around her.

"Bonnie!" I sprinting towards her. Stefan sped to me and held me back.

"No! No please." Damon pleaded.

She closed her eyes threw the necklace into the air where it shattered.

"No!" Damon screamed tearfully.

As Bonnie opened her eyes, she looked around. Emily must have left her body.

"Ahh!" Damon sped to her and bit into her neck.

"Damon!" Screamed Stefan throwing him off her.

"Bonnie!" I knelt down beside her and listened to her breathing. "She's alive, but barely." I said turning to Stefan.

"I can save her." Stefan bit into the skin of his wrist and held it over over Bonnie's mouth. She moaned and coughed as the blood dripped down her throat.

"It's working." I smiled thankfully.

I wrapped my arm around Bonnie's shoulders and I guided her to the car.

"I don't understand, Sophia, what happened to me? He attacked me, and...his face was like..." She stuttered in fear.

"How do you feel? Are you okay?" I asked softly.

"I'm fine. It's just this blood. I don't..." Bonnie began.

"I'm not gonna hurt you." Stefan spoke up.

"What's going on, Sophia?" Asked Bonnie.

"I'll explain everything Bonnie. Okay? Let's just get out of here." She was scared by Stefan. "Bonnie...Bonnie, look at me." I smiled. "Trust me. He's not going to hurt you. Come on." I helped her into the car before walking over to Stefan. "Is she in danger of becoming...?"

"No, she has to die with my blood in her system, so keep an eye on her tonight and make sure that nothing happens and once it leaves her system, she'll be fine." He answered.

"Me and Elena are going to tell her the truth." I explained.

"You sure?" Stefan asked caringly.

I nodded. "We can trust her." I smiled softly. "You saved her life today. I know you think that you have to keep your distance from me and Elena, but this proves that this town is going to be dangerous whether you stay or not. Difference is, you would be around to help."

I can't. I have to leave, Sophia. Too many people have died. Too much has happened." He said sadly.

"Please, this will destroy Elena if you just walk away now Stefan. She needs you, and you need her." I almost begged. "Deep down, you know that."

"I have to. Coming home was...it was a mistake. I can't be a part of Elena's life anymore." He paused. "Goodbye Sophia." Stefan began walking away.

"Don't go Stefan, what about Elena? Please...You don't have to do this. Mystic Falls is your home." I called after him.

He walked off through the trees.

As the rain began to pour down, I quickened my pace. Walking down the street on my way to Peter's, I knew I had to explain everything to him. Not the whole vampire, witchy, hullabaloo side of it, but the truth...He deserved that much. I'd spent the day thinking it over, and I knew what I felt. I loved Peter, today had proved how much I needed someone like him. Peter had always been there for me through everything and your first love always has the strongest place in your heart. Everything that had happened with Damon, anything I felt towards him, wasn't real. He compelled me to love him, his intentions were foul and I was just a mere cog in his plans to make Stefan's life a misery. Peter was right for me, perfect in fact. Jenna and Elena had told me this millions of times, but I'd never really took it all. I knew I had to tell him, explain it all. Reaching Peter's house, my eyes widened as two police cats were parked outside. Walking up the driveway, I stood on the doorstep and knocked gently. It took a few seconds before the door was opened. A policeman peered round.

"Can I help you?" He asked.

"I'm here to see Peter." I replied in a gentle tone.

The policeman turned away from the door and pushed it closed slightly. I could hear the faint mummering of a conversation but wasn't able to pick up what they were saying. When the door was opened once again, Peter's mum was standing beside it.

"Sophia..." Her eyes were dark red in colour and her skin was as pale as a sheet. Something was wrong, very wrong.

"Hi, I came to see Peter." I stated once again.

Martha went to speak, but her voice cracked and no words came. She took a deep heavily shaken breath. "There's been an accident..."

I gasped softly as my hands began to shake. My stomach turned as a sickening feeling consumed me. I became lightheaded as if I was witnessing the Earth rotating. Martha noticed this and took hold of my arm supportively. "You better come inside..."


	10. The Turning Point

**-Elena's POV-**

As my alarm rang, I quickly turned it off so that I wouldn't wake Sophia. I felt so sorry for her, she'd loved Peter for years and now he was gone. She had mentioned something about a car accident involving him, but that's all I knew. I didn't really want to quiz her on the subject. Sophia lay asleep in her bed with washed away mascara dried around her eyes and down her cheeks. My mind casted back to last night when she arrived home in such a state that I honestly felt useless. Jenna had told me to stay downstairs while she looked after Sophia upstairs. She didn't appeard downstairs until Sophia had finally fallen asleep at 1am this morning. Quietly getting out of bed, I sneaked out of the room and downstairs. Jenna was sitting at the counter with a mug of coffee in her hand. Her eyes darted to me as if she had expected to see Sophia.

"Morning." She said softly with tired eyes.

"Morning." I sat down over the counter from her and smiled gently. "Sophia's still asleep."

Jenna nodded. "That's good, she needs to rest..." She sighed. "Poor thing."

"Is it alright if I go and see Stefan this morning, I just want to say goodbye." I asked.

"Sure."

I made my way to the Boarding House and knocked on the door. Damon answered.

"Just what we need right now, grumpy Gilbert." He smirked.

"Not funny Damon." I rolled my eyes.

"Ohh, someone has her knickers in a twist." He teased.

"Is Stefan here?" I asked purposely ignoring his last remark.

"Depends who's askin'." He stated.

"I'm asking."

Damon stepped back from the door and I entered into the house.

Stefan walked to the end of the corridor. I presumed he did this to see who was at the door. As soon as he caught sight of me, he sighed.

"Elena..."

"I thought you were leaving." I crossed my arms.

"I am." He answered. "I'm just sorting a few things out first."

"I've been thinking." Damon spoke up. "I might go to London. See some friends."

"You don't have any friends, Damon." Stefan stated.

"Wait you're both leaving?" My eyes widened.

"You're right Stefan. I only have you." Damon ignored me. "So, where _we_ going?" He asked.

"_We_ are not going anywhere together!" Stefan clarified. "I'm gonna live my life as far away from Damon as possible."

"But we're a team! We could travel the world together. We can try out for "The Amazing race" He grinned with a smirk.

"Mmmm that's funny! Seriously, where are you going because we are not staying in this town."

"So you're just going to leave, just like that." I asked.

"Pretty much." Damon smiled.

The doorbell rang.

Stefan walked to the door and opened it. Sheriff Forbes was standing on the porch.

"I'm here to see Damon" She explained.

"Ah sure, OK."

"Sheriff, what a surprise!" Damon greeted.

"Sorry to bother you but we need to talk"

"Come in." Damon led Sheriff Forbes out the back of the house.

I turned back to Stefan. "You don't have to leave you know."

"I do Elena." He said in a saddened tone.

"You keep telling yourself that, but deep down, you know that you belong here." I walked out of the house.

After second period, I walked out onto the grounds. Stefan was pacing back and forwards on the field. Catching sight of me, he walked over.

"We need to talk, where's Sophia?" He asked.

I sighed. "Peter died in a car accident yesterday." I answered softly.

Stefan's eyes widened in sympathy. "Is she?"

I looked down. "It's hit her hard..."

"I'll go and see her later, see if she's alright." Stefan stated in a gentle tone.

I nodded. "When I saw you, I thought you were coming to say goodbye." Elena stated softly.

"Not yet.." He walked off.

**-Sophia's POV-**

Standing in front of the mirror, I used a face wipe to remove the dried on mascara that was streamed down my cheeks. Dressing in a long sleeve jumper and jeans, I tied my hair into a messy ponytail before taking a deep breath. There was a knock at the door.

"Yeah?" I asked quietly.

"It's Stefan." The voice answered.

I opened the door before allowing him to come in.

Stefan smiled gently for a few seconds before pulling me into a hug. I rested my head on his shoulder and tried not to cry.

As he pulled away, I smiled at him softly.

"How are you doing? Elena told me what happened with Peter, I hope you don't mind." He spoke caringly.

I shook my head. "It's fine...And I don't know really...I don't know what to feel...It's as if my brain hasn't fully registered what this means...I know that probably sounds crazy..."

Stefan shook his head. "No, no it doesn't. What you feel, that's what makes you human." He smiled. "Are you coming to Career night tonight?"

I shrugged. "Maybe..."

"You should, it'll take your mind off things." Stefan tried to cheer me up.

"Thanks Stefan." I smiled. "How are things with you and Elena?"

Stefan took a deep breath. "Alot has changed, something's for the better some for the worse. I'm still planning to leave Mystic Falls, just as soon as Damon and I solve the vampire problem." He explained.

"The town needs you Stefan, we need you." I stated softly.

He smiled. "The longer I stay here, the longer Mystic Falls is under threat."

_~Later That Day~_

Career night was in full swing. The corridors were lined with booths advertising various career options. I stopped in front of the 'Hospital Jobs' stand. I picked up one of the leaflets and opened it before noticing Stefan.

"I'm guessing you're not here to plan your future." I continued to read the leaflet on 'Becoming A Doctor'. "Something tells me you're on Elena watch."

"Hope that's ok." He smirked. "I'm glad you came." Stefan smiled.

"Yeah well, I've gotta think ahead...or atleast try to."

Stefan nodded before noticing what I was reading. "You know I wanted to be a doctor before everything happened, but I couldn't cause of..."

"The blood." I finished his sentence for him.

"Yeah, I've dabbled in a bunch of different things though." He explained.

"None of them really stick?" I asked.

"No I loved it all. It's just...I had to move on before anybody could notice that I wasn't getting any older."

"How long before that would happen?" I queried.

"Few years, usually. Sometimes shorter." Stefan put on a smile.

"And you always left?"

"I didn't have a choice." He answered. "So, what about, what about you? What are your plans for the future?"

I handed him the leaflet.

"So you want to be a doctor?" He smiled. "Any particular reason or do you just want to be one?"

"My dad was a doctor. He used to explain different things to me when I was little. I don't know, I can just see myself doing it and doing well at it." I smiled. "Anyway enough about my future, is Elena going to be in yours?"

"It's not that I don't wanna be in it, I do." Stefan explained. "...It's just too dangerous for me to stick around."

"I just hope you're making the right decision Stefan." I stated softly before walking off.

**-Elena's POV-**

My phone vibrated.

"Damon?" I answered.

"I need your help with something." He explained.

After collecting some compass off Damon, I drove to the old warehouse and flipped open the lid before calling him.

"So what do I do now?" I asked.

"Just wait. I'll be there in minute." He stated.

"So why did you need me to do this?" I furrowed an eyebrow.

"Because I interfere with the signal"

"How do you interfere with the signal, is it some sort of dick head locater?" I asked.

Damon pretended to laugh. "Hilarious."

"There's only so much Damon humour someone can hear before you begin to use it yourself." As I noticed Damon pull up, I hung up before walking over to him. "What is this thing?"

"The less you know, the better." He answered.

"It scares me when you're this secretive." I stated.

"Go home Elena." He shook his head.

"Gladly." I slammed the compass down into his hands before walking off round the side of the warehouse to my car.

**-Sophia's POV-**

As I walked down the corridor, I noticed Peter's locker. His friends had stuck messages and cards on the door. Feeling myself beginning to well up, I quickly turned away and walked off.

"...Well it's great to see the students of Mystic Falls High so eager to plan for their futures..." I recognised that voice. My eyes widened. I turned in an instant to see Logan Fell being interviewed. Gasping, I rushed down the corridor before noticing Stefan.

"Stefan!" I shouted.

He turned to me. "What's wrong?"

"Logan Fell...He's very much alive and here." I explained in a panicked tone.

"What, Logan's here!" Stefan's eyes widened.

Logan came walking over to us. "I didn't mean to cause a stir." He grinned.

"Where's Damon?" Stefan asked.

"Why don't we just skip past all that stuff to get the answer that I want? How can I turn into a day walker?" Logan smiled.

"Damon and I are the only people that know how." Stefan answered.

"But you both are cagey on the how, which tells me that there is a way. You know. In case you hadn't noticed, I'm quite the celebrity in this town. It would be very, very easy for me to expose you." He threatened.

"Do that all I'll suggest that the town should host a sunlight celebration. Maybe the festival of the sun." I threatened with a smirk.

"Is that a threat, cause I'll take you out little girl." He laughed.

Stefan stepped in front of me. "Don't ever threaten her again!"

"Tell me how I can walk in the sun and I'll leave the Gilbert sisters alone."

"No deal, sorry." Stefan ushered me away from Logan

Stefan's phone rang.

"Damon? Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not ok! I was ambushed. I was shot. Now, I'm vengeful. Just got to find him." He explained.

"Well, there's no need. He's here at the school." Stefan stated.

"You're kidding me right?" Damon sighed. "I'll be right there." He hung up.

**-Third Person POV-**

Elena was waiting outside. Taking her phone out her pocket, she rang Bonnie.

"Bonnie, where are you? I'm ready to go. I'll be outside." She hung up.

Logan drove up along side her. "Hey, damsel in distress, need a ride?" Getting out of the car, he walked round to her.

Elena's eyes widened as she began to back away from him. "You're dead!"

He grinned before grabbing hold of her and slamming her head against the metal roof of the car. Lifting up Elena, he lay her across the back seat of the car before getting in and speeding off.

**-Sophia's POV-**

I ran out of the school building. On the road, there was a small pool of blood. Looking around, I could see Logan's car in the distance. Panicking, I tried to ring Stefan but his phone went straight to voicemail. Dialling another number, I desperately hoped he would pick up.

"Sophia?" He answered.

"Damon, I think Logan has Elena." My tone was engulfed by fear.

"What?" Damon exclaimed.

"Outside the school, there's blood!" I explained. "Logan's just left."

"Don't worry, we'll find him." He reassured before hanging up.

**-Third Person POV-**

Stefan stood in the middle of the road. As Logan's car approached, he didn't move.

Logan slowed down.

Stefan pulled open the door and threw Logan out onto the pavement.

Damon pulled the trigger and shot him multiple times on the leg. "Payback's a bitch, isn't it?" He smirked. "Get Elena home, I got this!" He instructed.

Stefan nodded and opened the back door of the car before lifting Elena out into his arms.

She mumbled slightly.

"Hey." He smiled softly. "You need to keep your eyes open for me."

Elena nodded weakly.

Stefan sped off.

**-Sophia's POV-**

I noticed Stefan walking out of the main school building. "Where's Elena?" I asked.

"She's ok. I took her to the boarding house, she's a bit shaken up." He explained.

"Where's Logan?"

"Damon...is dealing with him." I've learnt two things about Stefan in the short time that I have known him. One, he will do anything to keep Elena safe. Two, I heavily pity anyone who hurts or threatens her cause' Stefan's angry side scares me more than Damon.

"And what about your descision to leave, does everything that has today not show you that this town needs you. I need you and most importantly Elena needs you." I explained.

"You saw what happened to Elena today, right? Why can't you understand why Elena and I can't be together? Being around me puts her in danger." Stefan stated.

"And you being there saves her. What would I have done if Logan had taken Elena and you and Damon weren't there to help?" I paused. "She would have been dead Stefan! Why are you so quick to condemn yourself?"

"I'm no hero Sophia."

I sighed. "Come on. I'll give you a ride."

"I can get home." He stated.

"I know." I smiled before walking off towards my car.

"Thanks." He answered before following.

As we pulled up at the house, Stefan turned to me.

"I know that it's hard to understand, but I'm doing this for Elena." He explained before getting out of the car and walking off.

Elena walked out onto the porch and began following him.

"You should be resting." Stefan said in a gentle tone.

"I'm fine."

"Elena..." He began.

"No, you don't get to make that decision for me!" Elena stated strongly. "If you walk away, it's for you because I know what I want. Stefan, I love you."

"I'll be inside." I smiled before walking passed them into the house.

**-Third Person POV-**

Stefan turned to Elena and stood there for a few seconds before placing his hands on the side of her face and kissing her. As they moved inside, Stefan's eyes began to transform causing them to become dark red and veiny. He quickly turned away.

"Don't..." Elena stated.

"Elena, I can't..."

"Yes, you can. Don't hide from me." She smiled softly.

Stefan turned to face Elena once again.

Elena gently touched the viens around his eyes before kissing him once again.

**-Sophia's POV-**

Trying to keep out of Stefan and Elena's way, I walked off through the house. Noticing Damon's drinks cabinet, I took a bottle and poured some out into a glass. I'm sure he wouldn't mind. I quickly downed the contents of the glass before placing it down on the side table. Jesus that stuff was strong! The taste was incredibly bitter as it almost burnt my throat. Note to self, never drink whiskey again. I was regretting drinking so much as almost instantly, a feeling of intoxication began to slowly engulf me. Someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned to see Damon. "What do you want Damon?" I asked in an exasperated tone.

"Just checking to see if you're alright." He answered.

"Thanks." I smiled slightly.

Our eyes met.

Damon tucked a strand of my hair back behind my ear. He smiled softly. "You're so beautiful."

I smiled.

Damon leant forward as his lips touched mine. Everything seemed so magical. I closed my eyes as I didn't want this moment to end. My head hurt slightly from the strength of the whiskey and I wouldn't be surprised if Damon could smell it on me but what the hell, he had other things on his mind right now. As he pulled away, he smiled.

I stumbled before my cheeks went red in embarresment.

"What have you drank?" Damon asked with a smirk.

"A full glass of whiskey." I stated with a giggle.

_~Later That Night~_

Getting out of Damon's bed, I looked at him and smiled before walking to the foot of the bed and picking up my clothes off the floor. I noticed a few various items scattered around. Noticing a picture on top of a pile of books, I picked it up. The girl looked just like me. The resemblance was uncanny. I gasped and quickly dropped the photo before rushing out of the house.

I kept my foot down on the accelerator. The tears pouring from my eyes made driving home difficult. How does she look like me? How could she possible look like me, the photo was hundreds of years old! A figure in the middle of the caused slam down the brake pedal. Despite my efforts, the figure smashed into the windscreen causing the car to flip and roll.


	11. Bloodlines

"Uhhh!" I moaned. Looking out through the shattered windscreen, a man lay on the ground in front of the car. Is he dead? Had I killed him? Suddenly, the man began to snap his broken bones back into place before standing up. My eyes widened as he began to slowly approach the car. I grabbed the seatbelt and desperately tugged at it. The man came closer and closer and my attempt at escape became more and more desperational. "Come on...come on..." I panicked. Within seconds, he was gone. I sighed in relief as I tried to look around the bent metal.

Damon appeared and knelt down.

"Ah!" I screamed.

"Sophia." He said softly.

"It's my seatbelt, I can't get it off." My tone was panic striken.

"Let me get you out of there. I want you to put your hands on the roof." He instructed in a gentle caring tone.

I nodded weakly and raised my hands so that they were touching the roof of the car.

"Just like that." He praised. "You ready? 1, 2, 3." Damon pushed up the crushed roof of the car and my seatbelt simply snapped. As I felt myself falling, he caught me. "I got you." Taking me in his arms, he lifted me from the car.

"Are you ok?" He worried. "Can you stand?" Damon put me down so that I was standing but my legs gave way beneath me. Damon caught me once again. "Whoa, you're fading fast." Putting his hand on my chin, he lifted my head. "Sophia, Sophia, look at me. Focus." My eyes were weakly fixed on his.

"I look like her..." I spoke softly.

"What?" Damon asked.

**Everything went black.**

As I gently awoke, Damon turned to me.

"Morning." He smiled. "How ya feeling? You don't have any broken bones, I checked."

"Where are we?" I asked before rubbing my head.

"Georgia." He answered.

"Seriously, where are we?" I asked again.

"Seriously, we're in Georgia." Damon smirked.

"But my car. There was a man. I hit a man. But then he got up and-who was that?" I rambled.

"That's what I would like to know." He replied.

I reached to my pocket to find it empty. "Where is my phone?"

He smirked before holding it up.

"Give me my phone!" I stated loudly.

"Oh you were so much more fun when you were asleep." He commented.

"Give me back my phone." I reached over to try and grab it off him.

My phone rang. Damon answered and put it on speaker. "Sophia's phone."

"Where's Sophia and why do you have her phone? Is she okay?" Elena panicked.

"Sophia? She's right here. And, yes, she's fine." He answered.

"Let me speak to her!"

Damon didn't say a word and instead looked at me.

"Damon, I swear to God, if you touch her-"

He pressed end call. "You could have spoke up, I gave you the oppurtunity. No?"

I shook my head and looked out of the window.

"Sophia..." Damon said softly.

"The girl on the photo, was that Katherine?" I asked sternly.

"Yes."

I scoffed. "So what, I'm just Katherine number two to you!"

"That's not true." He responded.

"Do you want to find her?" I asked.

He was silent for a while. "Yes..."

I scoffed once again. "I'm such an idiot." I shook my head.

"You're not a idiot Sophia."

"I am, for thinking that you were actually interested in me. Turns out I'm just a replacement for Katherine until you eventually find her." I poured out my feelings. "Stop the car!"

"I'm not stopping the car!" Damon replied.

"Stop the car Damon!" I shouted.

He ignored me.

Glancing quickly out of the window, it didn't look like Damon was going that fast. Pulling the handle, I opened the door and threw myself out. Sadly, I misjudged his speed. As I fell from the car, my skin scraped against the road until I came to a stop. My clothes were heavily torn and blood poured from my arm and side. Coughing and spluttering, everything seemed fazy.

"Sophia!" Damon screamed in the distance.

The world seemed to spin. My eyelids began to flutter. The pain was immense.

"Sophia!..." I could hear him shout. "Sophia!..." His voice became quieter until my eyes closed.

The pain set in as my body once again became aware of my surroundings. I was lying on something soft and leathery. A slight whisp of alcohol and coffee in the air. As the memories of last night came flooding back to me, I felt so guilty. My own vunerability had caused me to find comfort in Damon. I felt sick! Peter's been dead a day and I had already slept with Damon. Granted I was drunk, in all honesty, I had enjoyed it.

"The girl got herself cut up pretty good." I heard someone say.

"Well she did throw herself out of my car." Replied Damon's distinctive voice.

As my eyelids began to lighten, I slowly opened my eyes. Damon noticed and walked over instantly. "Hey." He smiled softly.

A tall woman with curly black hair stood next to him. "How you feelin' sweetie?" She asked.

Looking at my arm, the skin was stained red from the blood and the major gashes were kept together with steri-strips. Moving slightly, I winced back in pain. "Oww." I moaned.

"You need to take it easy okay." Damon spoke gently.

I nodded.

"Bree did a pretty good job of cleaning you up." He turned to the woman.

"Well it was better than your solution." Bree replied.

"You would say that though, for obvious reasons."

"You haven't changed at all in 20 years." Bree smiled.

"I haven't changed in 171 years." He smirked.

"So you two know each other." I pieced together.

Bree nodded. "College."

I raised an eyebrow. "You went to college?"

"I've been on a college campus, yes." Damon grinned.

"It was back when I was a sweet, young freshman I met this beautiful man, and I fell in love. And then he told me about his little secret, made me love him more. Because, you see, I had a little secret of my own that I was dying to share with somebody."

"She's a witch." He stated.

"Really?" I asked.

Bree nodded. "Not of that pointy hat and broomstick business though." She walked off. Damon followed her to the bar.

I nodded. My phone vibrated. '_Stefan calling_' I pressed accept.

"Sophia, is that you?"

"I'm here." I answered.

"Where are you?" He asked.

"When you told us about Katherine, you missed out the part where she looks exactly like us!" I stated sternly.

"Just tell me where you are. So that I can come get you."

"How are we connected to Katherine, Stefan?" I asked.

"I honestly don't know." He answered.

"And I'm supposed to believe that?" I scoffed before hanging up.

Damon walked over. "You ok?"

"Don't pretend to care, it doesn't suit you." I ignored the pain and got up before walking off to the bar. Sitting down on one of the stools, Bree walked over.

"What can I get you?" She asked with a smile.

"A burger and a beer please." I answered.

"Coming up."

"Make that two." Damon sat down beside me.

"You're relentless, you do know that." I turned to him with a smile.

"You gotta' give a guy points for trying." He smirked.

"Let's just say that I'm descended from Katherine, does that make me part vampire?" I asked.

Damon shook his head. "Vampires can't procreate. But we love to try." He grinned with a cocky smirk. "No, if you were related, it would mean Katherine had a child before she was turned."

"So how do we look so much like her?"

"Honestly, I have no idea." He answered.

"That's the answer I got from Stefan."

"I take it my brother's panicking about you. The last thing he needs is another frownline. Probably thinks I'm going to drink you dry."

"Are you?" I asked with a smirk.

"No." He laughed.

"Here you go." Bree handed each of us a plate of burger and chips before returning with two bottles of beer.

"Thank you." Lifting the bun and removing the pickles, I laid them on the side of the plate.

"Come on Sophia, you don't like pickles? What's wrong with you?" Damon smirked before picking up one of them and eating it.

"How can you even eat if technically you're dead!" I asked.

"As long as I keep a healthy diet of blood in my system, my body functions pretty normally."

I laughed before lifting up my bottle of beer. "Cheers." I smiled turning to Damon.

"Cheers."

We clinked the bottles together before taking a drink.

Many drinks later, Damon and I were stood round the bar with various other people. Bree stood behind the bar and handed each of us another shot.

"Ready... Go!"

I quickly downed the shot before clapping and doing a victory shimmy. "That's 3." Looking at Damon, he seemed to be struggling. "Do you need a bib?" I smirked.

"Sorry I can't unhinge my jaw like a snake to consume alcohol." He replied.

"Whatever. All right. Who's next? Another round, Bree." I asked.

"Honey, you should be on the floor." A very drunk looking woman stated.

"I am not even drunk and anyway, I need all the alcohol I can get to numb the pain." I smirked. "Plus, my tolerance is, like, way up here." I reached for the sky to indicate how much.

"All right. Here you go." Bree poured another round of shots.

My phone began to vibrate on the wooden bar. I pressed accept.

"Sophia?" The voice answered in a panicked tone.

"Jenna! Hold on, it's loud in here." I stumbled through the sea of tables and chairs in the bar.

"Sophia, where are you? Are you okay?" She asked.

"Huh? Yeah. No, I'm good. Eveything's fine. Hold on. I can't hear you." I exited as fast as my jellied legs could carry me.

"No, it's not fine! I got a call..." I dropped my phone onto the path.

Someone grabbed me from behind. I went to scream but the figure clamped it's hand over my mouth. The figure sped round the corner before dumping me on some metal framing. In seconds, Damon appeared. I needed to warn him. "Damon no!" I shouted.

The figure sped over to Damon and began striking him with a wooden baseball bat. Damon fell to the ground as the figure continued.

"What the hell?" Damon asked.

I climbed down from the frame and ran over. "No!"

The figure grabbed a can of gasoline and poured it over Damon.

"Who are you?" Damon snarled.

"That's perfect. You have no idea."

"What are you talking about? What did he do?" I asked.

"He killed my girlfriend. What did she do to you, huh? What did she do to you?!" He screamed.

"Nothing." Damon answered weakly.

"I don't understand." I stated.

"My girlfriend went to visit Stefan, and Damon killed her. Got it?" The man hit Damon once again with the bat.

"Ugh!" He moaned.

Then, it hit me. "Lexi!" My eyes widened. "Lexi was your girlfriend."

The man nodded.

"She told me about you, she said, that you were human." I furrowed an eyebrow.

"I was." He struck a matchstick. I knew I had to stop him.

"Lexi turned you?" I stalled.

"If you want to be with someone forever, you have to live forever."

"She loved you. She said that, "when it's real, you can't walk away." I quoted.

"Well, that's a choice you're not going to have to make." He held the match closer towards Damon.

"Don't. Don't, please, don't hurt him-" I begged.

"I'm doing you a favor." He snarled.

"Lexi loved you. And she was good. And that means you're good too. Be better than him. Don't do this. I'm begging you! Please." I said tearfully.

The vampire lifted Damon before throwing him backwards against the wall across the car park and speeding off.

Damon groaned.

I quickly ran over to him. "Are you alright?" I asked softly.

"Thank you." He smiled.

As we drove back to Mystic Falls, I put my feet up on the dashboard of the Camaro and turned to Damon. "So, why did you bring me with you?" I asked.

"Well you're not the worst company in the world, Sophia. You should give yourself more credit." He smiled.

"Seriously?" I raised an eyebrow.

"You were there in the road. All damsel in distress-like. And I knew it would piss off your sister and Stefan. And... you're not the worst company in the world, Sophia."

"I saved your life and I'm more fun than Elena." I giggled. "Double bonus."

As we pulled up the driveway, Elena and Stefan walked out.

"You could have told me." Elena stated before wrapping her arms around me. "I was so worried."

I turned to Stefan. "When we first found out what you were, you promised to tell us anything we wanted to know. I can handle the truth, Stefan. As crazy as that sounds, I can handle the fact that you are a vampire. And you have a vampire brother. And that my best friend is a witch. I can accept the fact that the world is a much more mysterious place than I ever thought possible. But this, this I cannot take." I paused. "Why do we look like her Stefan?"

"You are not Katherine. You and Elena are the opposite of everything that she was." He stated.

"And when did you figure that out? Before you started dating my sister?" I questioned.

"Before I met you and Elena."

I furrowed an eyebrow. "Wait, what?"

"In the graveyard, it wasn't for the first time."

"Then when was it?" Asked Elena.

"May 23, 2009." He answered.

"But that was-" I began.

"That was the day your parents' car went off the bridge."

"You were there?" Elena's eyes widened.

"Every couple of years I come back here to see Zach and see my home. Last spring, I was out in the woods, by old Wickery bridge. And I heard the accident. All of it. I was fast getting there, but not fast enough. The car was already submerged. Your dad was still- he was still conscious. I was able to get to him, but he wouldn't let me help him, until I helped you and Sophia." He explained.

Tears poured down my cheeks. "Oh my god. When we woke up in the hospital, nobody could figure out how we got out of the car. They said it was a miracle." It all made sense now.

"I went back for them. But it was too late. I couldn't- I couldn't save them. I looked at your faces. You looked like Katherine. I couldn't believe the resemblance. I spent months making sure that you weren't her. I watched you. I learned everything that I could about you. And I saw that you were nothing like Katherine. And I wanted to leave town, but, I couldn't. I couldn't leave without knowing you both. I'm so sorry that I didn't tell you. I wanted to. But you were both so sad." He looked close to tears himself.

"Why do we look like her?" I asked.

"You've been through so much."

"Why do we look like her, Stefan? What are you not telling us?" Elena backed me up.

"It didn't make any sense to me. You were Gilbert's. She was a Pierce. But the resemblance was too similar. And then I learned the truth. You were both adopted." He explained.

Our eyes widened.

"How do you know that?"

"Your birth certificates from the city records. It says Elena and Sophia Gilbert. Mystic Falls General. But there's no record of your mother ever being admitted. There's no record of her ever being pregnant." Stefan stated.

"What else do you know?" I asked.

"For me to go any further, I would've had to look into the Pierce family, and I couldn't do that. It's too much of a risk. If someone found out I was asking about Katherine." He paused. "Listen to me Elena, it doesn't matter. You are the woman that I love. I love you."

Elena smiled softly before kissing him and bursting into tears.

Stefan cradled her in his arms.

Later that night, we returned home. Entering inside, Jenna came out of the living room.

"I don't set a lot of rules. Not with you and Sophia. I trust you to tell me the truth. Where were you? Why would you lie to me about it? I thought that we were closer than that." She stated sternly.

"Now is not the time you want to talk to us about lies." I shook my head angrily and stormed past her up the stairs.

"Don't do that. Don't turn this back on me. I didn't do anything."

"Ok, question! Are we adopted? I trust you to tell us the truth too, Jenna. How could you not tell us? I thought we were closer than that." I used her own words against her as I entered our room.

"I didn't, they asked me not to." Jenna called.

"We don't want to hear it!" Elena closed the bedroom door behind her.


	12. Let The Right One In

I lounged across the couch in the living room of the boarding house.

"I say we go to Pearl's, bust down the door, and annihilate the idiot that attacked us last night." Said Damon while boarding up the window that Frederick and Beth-Anne had broke through.

"Yeah. And then what? We turn to the rest of that house of vampires and say, "Oops. Sorry?" Mocked Stefan.

"I can't believe you made a deal with her." I spoke up.

"It was more like a helpful exchange of information. And it's not like I had a choice. She's...scary." Mocked Damon.

"Of course she is." I smirked.

"You don't have to be snarky about it." He smirked.

"I'm not, I woke up this morning to learn that all the vampires have been released from the tomb. I've earned snarky." I joked.

"How long are you going to blame me for turning your birth mother into a vampire?"

"I'm not blaming you more dragging it out until it makes you want to stake yourself." I grinned.

"Ouch."

"This isn't being very productive. We're gonna figure out a way to deal with Pearl and the vampires." Said Stefan stepping in.

"I'll leave you to it." I grabbed my coat. "Bye." I walked down the hallway and out of the door.

I drove through the woods on my way to pick Elena up. Suddenly, a figure stood on the road. I gasped and slammed the brake pedal to the floor. The figure grinned evily before appearing at the door of the car. I pressed down the lock of the door knowing that it wasn't going to stop a vampire.

"We can do this the easy way..." He stated. "Or the hard way!" The vampire ripped off the door of the car and pulled me out. He twisted my arm behind my back.

"Ahhh!" I moaned in pain.

Frederick walked over. As he turned to me, his eyes widened.

"Katherine!" He said sternly. "Bring her!" Frederick ordered.

"Wait!" I shouted. "I'm not Katherine!" I tried to break free of his grasp but as I struggled, the pain from the angle my arm was at caused me to wince in pain.

They walked me deep into the forest until I saw a face that I recognised.

Stefan was on his knees with a stake in his stomach.

"Stefan!" I exclaimed with wide eyes.

"Sophia!" He said softly.

The vampire I was escorted by pushed me to the ground.

"Look what we found!" Frederick grinned. "Nice touch with the hair dye." He smirked evily. "Boys."

Two of them walked towards me holding stakes.

"I'm not Katherine!" My voice was soft.

One grabbed me while the other aimed.

"No!" Shouted Stefan.

"I'm not Katherine!" I screamed fearfully.

"Frederick!..." Stefan begged. "She's not Katherine!"

"Shame..." Frederick began walking round me. "She may not be Katherine, but she is still of her descent. That will just have to do!" He smiled. "As long as she has an effect on you and your brother, I don't mind." He motioned with his hand and the vampire holding me sunk his fangs into my neck.

"Ahhh!" I screamed in pain as the blood was sucked from my neck.

Everything went black.

I felt groggy as I began to awake. I went to rub my head but my hands appeared to be tied behind my back. I tried to wriggle out of the knots, but then I remembered that they would've been tied by vampires so I had no chance of getting them off. I was propped up in the corner of a large stone wall which appeared to be a basement.

"Sophia." Said a voice.

I turned in the direction of the voice and noticed Stefan bound down in a chair. His eyes were red with pain and he looked weak.

"Stefan!" I panicked.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

I nodded. "How about-" I asked him back.

My question was interupted by the arrival of Frederick. He was followed by a group of around six. "You're awake." His facial expressions looked so evil. Frederick walked over to me and sniffed. "Fresh." He grinned before biting into my neck once again.

I screamed out in pain before beginning to feel woozy once again.

"Don't hurt her!" Struggled Stefan.

He pulled away.

My neck stinged. I heard a loud knock at the door.

"Grab them!" Said Frederick.

Two of the vampires grabbed me and another two grabbed Stefan. One of the remaining vampires grabbed a gun and held it against my head. I immediately stiffened, my breathing became heavier and heart raced in fear.

"Pearl! Open this door or I swear to God I'll bust through and rip your head off." The beautiful voice was that of Damon's.

The leader answered the door. "Pearl's not home. Hmm. Beautiful weather. Not a ray of sun in the sky." He looked out of the door at the sky.

"Where's my brother?" He asked.

He doesn't even know I'm here.

"Billy."

They dragged Stefan into Damon's view. Damon's eyes widened as he saw his brother in so much pain. "You're dead." He tried to get into the house.

"Whoa. I'm sorry to dissapoint but you haven't even seen the best part yet!" He grinned.

They dragged me into view. I kicked and squirmed but they were too strong.

"Sophia!" He looked distraught.

"Well don't just stand there. Say something." He smiled.

I didn't know what to say.

"Fell be careful where you point that thing, it won't do nearly enough damage there." He said referring to how the vampire holding the gun was currently pressing it against my back. He quickly raised it to the side of my head so Damon could see.

I gulped as I tears ran down my cheeks. "Damon!" I whimpered.

"I swear to god if you hurt her!" He shouted in rage before his broken eyes returned to mine. "Don't worry, I'll get you out."

"Miss Gibbons?" He called.

A woman walked over to him. "Yes, Frederick, honey?" So the leader's called Fredrick.

"Never let this bad man in." He said looking into her eyes.

"I'll never let him in." She walked away happily.

"145 years left starving in a tomb, thanks to Katherine's infatuation with you and your brother. First few weeks, every single nerve in your body screams with fire. The kind of pain that can drive a person mad. Well... I thought your brother and girlfriend might want to get a taste of that before I kill them both. Billy, Fell!"

Billy stabbed Stefan with a stake.

Stefan groaned in pain.

Fell bit into my neck. I screamed in pain once again.

"No!" Screamed Damon.

Once he had finished feeding, he let go off me. My body dropped to ground hard. My eyes flickered in pain. I saw Damon in the doorway through half closed eyes.

"You have a nice day." Grinned Fredrick as he closed the door in Damon's face.

**-Third Person POV-**

Damon ran to the car. Elena looked out of the window and got out of the car before putting her umbrella up. She held it over Damon and her.

"What happened? Where is he?" She asked.

"Elena they have Sophia too!" He said sadly.

"What!" Her eyes widened. "No this can't be happening! How are we going to get them out."

"I don't know cause' I can't get in."

"Why not?"

"Because the woman who owns the house is compelled to not let me in." His voice was full of sorrow as he spoke.

"I can get in." She began walking off.

Damon grabbed her. "You're not going in there."

"I'm going!" She argued trying to get past him.

"You're not going in there." He pulled her back infront of him.

"Why are they doing this? What do they want with him and Sophia?" She asked scared of what may happen to them.

"Revenge. They want revenge."

"We've got to do something Damon!"

"I know." He nodded.

"We can't let them get hurt. We need to get them out of there." Elena panicked.

"I know. Elena, I know. But I don't know how to get them out." He tried to calm her down.

**-Sophia's POV-**

The vampires began tying Stefan up. They put vervain on the ropes before hoisting him up just enough so his feet couldn't touch the floor.

"Vervain on the ropes." Narrated Fredrick.

"Aah! Unh!" Groaned Stefan.

"That's gotta sting." He smiled.

"Stop it!" I screamed with tears in my eyes.

"Shut up!" He shouted. "He killed Beth-Anne. One of us. And don't you think for a second he wouldn't kill you if he had the chance. Pearl says we're not here for revenge, right? I say that's exactly what we're here for. We'll deal with you first, then her, then your brother and finally anyone else who gets in our way." He turned to one of the vampires. "You know what to do!"

The vampire walked over to me.

As I squirmed, the rope snapped freeing my hands. I grabbed the chair and with all of remaining strength, smacked him with it. What I didn't anticipate, was it doing absolutely nothing to help the situation.

The vampire grabbed hold of me and slammed me against the stone wall. Pain exploded in my skull causing me to black out once again.

**-Third Person POV-**

Damon and Elena entered Alaric's classroom.

"Mr. Saltzman. We need your help. The tomb vampires have taken Stefan and Sophia. Damon's a vampire so he can't get into the house. We need you cause' Damon is refusing to let me go in."

"Also the woman in charge of the crowd can help you find your wife." He grinned.

"Fine I'll help."

Alaric and Damon climbed out of the camaro carrying various weapons to help defend themselves. Elena also got out.

"Whoa. What are you doing?" Asked Alaric.

"I'm going with you guys." She answered.

"No. No way you'll get yourself killed and we need to focus on getting Stefan and Sophia out. I can't protect you, Elena. I don't know how many vampires there are in there. That's how long it takes you to get your head ripped off. I have to be able to get in and get out. I can't be distracted with your safety. Or this will end up a bloodbath that none of us walk away from...Including Stefan and Sophia. I know. I get it. I understand. If you really want to help, you can drive the getaway car."

"If we're gonna go, let's go." Alaric began walking towards the house.

Alaric knocked on the door. Frederick answered.

"Oh, good, someone's home. Uh, could I use your phone? My car broke down a few miles up the road. This was the first house I saw." He smiled.

"Well, lucky you."

"Yeah. Lucky me. It's no trouble, is it?"

"Not in the slightest." Frederick backed away from the door.

Alaric entered. "Hey, man, I really appreciate it. It's rough out there."

"Billy, show our visitor where the phone is in the kitchen. And get me something to drink."

Billy showed Alaric to the phone before coming at him with a stake.

Alaric grabbed the stake and stabbed him with it. He then turned on the blender to create a distraction noise while he pushed Miss Gibbons in the direction of the door before opening it.

Damon stood on the porch.

Alaric pushed Miss Gibbons outside.

"Now! Miss Gibbons, tell me the truth. Are you married?" Asked Damon merrily.

"No." She smiled.

"Parents, children, anyone else who lives on this property?"

"No. It's just me." She beamed.

"No? Good." He snapped her neck.

"You were supposed to compel her." Complained Alaric.

"It doesn't work that way..." Damon walked into the house.

Elena climbed out from the back seat of the car and began walking over to the house. Once she reached the porch, she knelt down behind the wall before creeping over to a small stone staircase. Elena descended the stairs before trying to open the door. When it didn't budge, she smashed the windowpane and unlocked the door. A guard noticed her.

Damon staked him before he could attack. "Are you insane?"

Damon and Elena entered the basement.

"Elena...You shouldn't be here..." Struggled Stefan.

"She was supposed to stay in the car." Complained Damon. He went to pull the rope to let Stefan down bu the vervain burnt his hands. "Ahh! Elena, pull that."

Elena pulled the rope lowering Stefan to the ground.

Damon noticed Sophia and rushed over. A pool of blood stained the floor beside her head. "Sophia..." He shook her gently. "Sophia..." No response.

**-Sophia's POV-**

My eyelids fluttered as I awoke. I noticed Damon and smiled. "Damon?" I said groggily.

He smiled softly. "Hey." My body was covered in bite marks. He lifted me up into his arms gently.

I struggled to keep my eyes open. All my body wanted to do was sleep. I slowly felt my eyelids close.

"Sophia! Sophia! Open your eyes..." Damon panicked.

I followed his instruction and opened my eyes.

"You need to keep your eyes open for me..." He seemed so scared, so frantic.

Elena also rushed over. "Sophia."

"Elena can you get Stefan into the car?" He asked.

Elena nodded before putting her arm round Stefan's shoulders to support him. "What about you and Sophia?" She asked.

"We'll be fine now go!"

I smiled. "I like your soft side."

"Don't get too used to it." He smirked.

"You know I don't believe that right?" I laughed.

He just smiled.

"I was so scared and then I saw you and I thought they were going to hurt you too." Tears started rolling again.

"Shush." He comforted. "It's ok, everything's going to be ok. Does it hurt?" He asked softly.

I nodded truthfully. "It's my head."

"What happened?" He asked caringly.

"One of the vampires slammed me into the wall. I hit my head." I explained in a broken tone of voice.

"I can feed you my blood." His eyes were full of pain. I knew it hurt him to see me like this.

I shook my head. "I'm really not good when it comes to blood." I smirked.

When we reached the boarding house, Damon took me inside before lying me onto his bed.

"I don't mind sleeping on the couch you know." I said sleepily.

"It's fine. You get some rest." He smiled before pulling the covers over me and turning off the light.

I awoke during the night after hearing a clattering noise. I picked up a stake from the floor of Damon's room and crept into the hallway. The noise appeared to be coming from Stefan's room. I counted down in my head before swinging open the door. Bloodpacks were scattered all over. I noticed Stefan sitting on the floor drinking from another bloodpack.

"Stefan?" I asked softly.


	13. Miss Mystic Falls

As I walked down the corridor, I noticed Elena talking.

"I know it's been really hard..." She smiled reasurringly to someone but I couldn't see who it was. Continuing to walk towards her, I sighted Bonnie.

"Bonnie!" I shouted.

She turned round and greeted me with a smile.

Practically flinging myself at her, I embraced her in a hug. "I know we've talked everyday but I've missed you."

"I've missed you too Sophia."

"How are you doing?" I asked softly.

"Better. Better. You know, glad to be back and trying to keep myself busy." She nodded.

Caroline walked over. "I am so nervous about the Founder's court."

"The Founder's court? Did I miss something?" Asked Bonnie furrowing an eyebrow.

"The Founder's court! You know, Miss Mystic Falls. They're announcing it today!" She explained.

"I still don't understand."

"Miss Mystic Falls is where all of the daughter's of founding families attend this dance thing." I explained breifly.

"It's a bit more prestigious than that!" Caroline stated before walking off.

"Where are we supposed to go?" Asked Elena.

"Founder's Hall."

Arriving at the Founder's Hall, Carol Lockwood was greeting everyone.

"Hello girls." She smiled. "I bet you're all excited."

We nodded.

"Good good, well if you all make your way through, I'm going to announce the girls in the final."

Elena and I stood in the middle of the hall in front of the stage.

"This year's queen will have the special honor of taking stage at the one hundred fiftieth founder's day gala. I have in my hands, the names of the girls who will take part in the pageant." She carefully opened the golden evelope before pulling out the piece of paper enclosed within. "Caroline Forbes...Amber Bradley...Tina Fell...Elena Gilbert..."

I waited but my name never came.

Mayor Forbes began to clap.

Elena turned to me. "But you're a founding daughter, you should be in the pageant."

I didn't know what to feel.

"We should speak to Mayor Lockwood, see if she can get you in."

"Lena honestly it's fine." I lied.

"No it's not." She grabbed hold of my arm and pulled me over to Mayor Lockwood. "Mayor."

"Yes Elena."

"I don't understand how Sophia didn't get chosen." She stated.

"This year, we only needed four girls to take part in the pageant. We tried to decide as fairly as possible so that all of the Founding Families were represented." Mayor Lockwood explained. "I'm sorry girls, but there simply wasn't enough places." She walked off.

I did the same.

"Sophia, where are you going?" Elena asked.

"Home." I lied once again before walking out of the building.

Knocking on the door of the Salvatore Boarding House, Damon answered.

"Don't you have a home?" He smirked before noticing my expression. "What's wrong?"

Instead of answering with a simple explanation of the morning's events, I burst in tears and buried myself against Damon's chest. He responded by gently wrapping his arms around me and stroking my hair.

"Hey..." He cood.

Sitting on the couch, I lay against Damon.

"You don't need someone to tell you that your pretty Sophia." He said softly.

I shook my head. "It's not about that. It's just, my mom was really into this Founder's day stuff. She believed in community, family, honor and loyalty. This was really important to my mother. She was even Miss Mystic in her day. I just wanted to do it for her. You know, it's the legacy she left for me and Elena." I explained.

Stefan entered the Boarding House.

"How was school?" Damon smirked.

"Fine." Answered Stefan.

"Yeah? Same old, same old? Nothing new?" He enquired further.

"You're making small talk, why?" Stefan asked before noticing me. "Hi Sophia."

"Hi." I smiled.

"You seem awfully chipper lately, less doom and gloom, a little more pep in you step." Damon was obviously going somewhere with this.

"And you think it's because I drank human blood again." Stefan commented. "Well, I hate to burst your bubble but I'm clean."

"Yeah, that's not possible." Damon stated.

"Not only is it possible, but it's quite true." He responded.

"Stefan, just be serious for a second. You spent the last century and a half being a poster child for Prozac and now you expect me to believe that this new you has nothing to do with human blood. Nothing."

"I'm clean." Stefan stated before walking off.

"You're lying!" He shouted after him.

"Believe what you want." Stefan replied from the other room.

I looked up at Damon. "What's so bad about Stefan drinking human blood?"

"When Stefan drinks human blood, Stefan is no longer Stefan. Capiche?" Damon explained.

I nodded. "I'm gonna' go talk to him."

Walking to his room, I stood in the doorway as I heard him talking.

"No, no, it's fine. I'd be happy to escort you." He must be on the phone to Elena. "It'll be great." I could see him smile in the reflection of the mirror. "I love you too."

I smiled. They are so cute together.

Stefan hung up.

My eyes widened as I spotted a blood pack in his hand. He placed it down on the bed. "Stefan!"

He turned to me.

"Well well, he's a liar and a thief. So, when were you gonna share?" Damon made me jump as he walked past me into the room. "I've seen your stash!"

"So, I'm drinking blood again. You're the one that shoved it on me, what's your problem? I have it under control."

"Under control? You robbed the hospital!" Damon exclaimed.

"So, what's your point?" Stefan didn't seem remotely bothered about Damon's concern.

"Fine, whatever man, drink up. Just remember, we're trying to keep a low profile. Why don't you just walk up to Sheriff Forbes and ask her to tap a vein?" Damon shook his head.

"Have my actions negatively impacted you? I can't imagine what that must feel like." Stefan's tone was bitter.

"Have you thought about my sister and how this will make her feel!" I stated sternly.

Stefan just looked at me.

"I know you're a vampire and all that but you really do not scare me!"

Damon looked at me with a proud expression.

"I'm still the same person." Stefan stated.

"Clearly!" I scoffed. "She loves you so much! Do you know what this will do to her?"

"Elena doesn't need to know anything yet." He explained.

"Well don't you think she deserves that at least!"

"You've been off the human stuff for years, Stefan. If you're having trouble controlling..." Damon began.

"I'm not having trouble." Stefan immediately cut him off mid sentence.

"Who do you think you're talking to? I know what it's like. That Jekyll and Hyde feeling, that switch, sometimes it goes off and you snap. Right now is not a good time for me to be worried about you snapping." Damon seemed genuinely concerned about him.

"I know that it pains you to see this but I'm fine, okay? I'm fine." He picked up the bloodpack once again. "So please, do me a favor and back off." He brushed past Damon as he exited the room.

I have never realised how nosey I am. Realisation of that kicked in as I listened in on Damon's conversation with Uncle John.

"Where do we start looking for vampires?" John asked.

"How do you act John? You obviously don't care about catching vampires, you're here talking to me." Damon stated bluntly.

"Actually, I care very much." Strange strange man.

"What's Isobel's take on that? I mean, considering that she is one."

I smirked silently.

"Isobel and I share a mutual interest. The original Jonathan Gilbert has an invention that was stolen by a vampire. That vampire was then burned alive in Fell's church, or so Jonathan thought and the invention was lost forever. But then the vampires weren't killed, were they? They were trapped and now they're free, thanks to you which means the invention is retrieval." John explained.

"What is it?" Damon asked.

"The only thing that matters is that I want it back."

"Why bring me into it John? I mean, I don't know what you are talking about much less who has it." He asked.

"Oh come on Damon! You were around back then, you know who these people are, what they look like. He was friendly with a woman who turned out to be a vampire. Her name was Pearl. Does that ring a bell?" John looked pleased with himself. "Oh and did I mention that you're going to help me!"

"And what makes you think I'm going to do that?" Damon stated in a ridiculing tone.

"Because if you want your secret to remain secret, you're going to help me."

I walked into view of the two of them. "Threatening, that's a new low even for you."

"Says the girl who's associates herself with them." He shook his head. "Your sister isn't any better but at least she chose a more sensible choice." John looked at Damon. "No offence."

"None taken." He mocked.

"I couldn't care less about what you think. You've had no say in how I live my life and that's not going to change today." I stated.

"Do you think your parents would be proud knowing that all the time and effort your ancestors spent ridding this town of vampires was inconsequential." John looked at me in disgust. "You are no niece of mine."

"Get out!" Damon stated loudly.

"I beg your pardon?" John asked.

"You know, I only entertain this whole blackmail scheme thing of yours because I thought that you and Isobel could lead me to Katherine but see, now I know you've no idea where Katherine is, because if you did you would know that Katherine and Pearl were best friends. See, you don't know everything, do you John?"

"I'll tell the entire council what you are!" He threatened.

"Go for it! I'll kill every last one of them. Then I'll sever your hand, pull your ring off, and I'll kill you too. Do you understand that?"

I smirked.

Damon opened the door for him. "Don't let it hit you on the way out!"

I made my way to school in search of Elena. Entering the hall, Stefan and Elena were tragically dancing.

"Honor your partner. Stay focus, right hand around. Flirt with your eyes." Shouted Mayor Lockwood.

I smirked at the cheesiness of the whole thing.

Elena noticed me and waved.

Noticing Bonnie, she seemed put off by Stefan.

I walked over to her. "Hey."

"Hey." I smiled. "Bonnie, you can tell me what's wrong. If you want, I won't tell Elena." I said softly.

"It's not worth talking about." Bonnie shook her head.

"What do you mean not worth it? You barely said ten words to me and I saw how you looked at Stefan." I went out on a limb. "Is it Stefan?"

"Listen Sophia, I can't just pretend that everything's okay. Everything my Grams did was to protect us from those vampires in the tomb. And now they're out which means she died for nothing." She explained.

"I'm so sorry Bonnie. Is there anything I can do?" I asked.

"That's just it, there's nothing you can do. I blame him Sophia, him and Damon and I'm not gonna put you in a situation where you have to choose sides. I'm just having a hard time with it, okay?" She walked off.

I sighed.

Once home, I entered my room and picked out a dress from the wardrobe. Although the dress code stated that knee length dresses weren't suitable for the heritage of the event, it was the only one I currently owned that wasn't black. White colour, the dress featured a floral lace design. My phone began to vibrate.

"Lena?" I answered.

"I need your help." Elena stated.

"Sure." I smiled. "I'll be right there."

As the other girls were applying their make up. I was in the process of curling Elena's hair.

"Thanks for helping me." She smiled.

"Don't thank me until you're sure your hair isn't gonna burn off." I smirked.

"You know, I remember when mom us and first applied for this. She was so excited." Elena seemed so happy.

"We both were." I smiled.

Elena nodded. "She just made it sound like so much fun. Lots has changed since then."

"I hate to break it to you, but its a little late for cold feet." I stated softly.

"I don't have cold feet. I just..." She paused. "I think I'd be enjoying it a lot more if she was here."

"I know." I smiled weakly. The last thing I wanted to do today was rewash memories of mom and dad. "Anyway, I'll tell you one thing, your hair would have a better chance if she was." I put the curlers down on the vanity table. "Volia."

"Thank you so much, it looks perfect." She stood up and hugged me. "I need to go and put my dress on. I'll see you later."

"Good luck." I smiled before she rushed off.

Walking down the corridor, someone linked my arm. I turned to see Damon.

"You free? Good." Damon gave no time for me to answer. He seemed on edge over something. Pulling me into one of the side rooms, he closed the door behind him. "Normally I would have a completely different outlook of what I'm about to tell you but since it could really inconvenince me, I'll squeal. Stefan's still drinking human blood. A month ago I would have rejoiced but with the council back on the alert, it is not a good time for Stefan to fly off the handle."

"How bad is he?" I asked.

"Right now, he has no idea what normal is, his entire existence isn't normal. Normal to a vampire is drinking human blood but he's spent all this time fighting it when he should have been learning to control it and now it's controlling him instead." Damon explained.

Stefan entered the room.

"What's going on in here?" He asked.

"I was just filling Sophia in on your current extra-curricular activities." Damon said turning to him.

"I'm fine. The blood, it doesn't change anything."

"It's changing you." I stated caringly.

"Why? Because I'm keeping it a secret from Elena? Come on Sophia, look at the way you're reacting right now. Can you really blame me for wanting to keep it from her?" He asked.

"Are you hearing yourself right now? You've been stealing blood and lying and you say that everything's fine? Everything's not fine, Stefan!"

"I see you and Damon all of a sudden have everything figured out then?" He stated bitterly. "I'll leave you both to it then." He walked out of the room.

I sat down on one of the plush chairs and buried my head in my hands as I tried to get my head around everything that was happening.

Elena entered the room. "Hey have you seen Stefan?"

I looked up before turning to Damon. We exchanged worried glances for a moment.

"We need to talk." He stated softly before leaving the room with her.

Damon returned a few minutes later with a saddened expression. "Elena..." He paused. "Elena's gone."

"Gone? What do you mean gone? Gone where?" I asked softly.

"She went to find Stefan." He explained.

"And you didn't stop her?"

"Sophia, you know what your sister is like when she sets her heart on something." He sighed. "There were signs of a struggle in the upstairs bathroom." Damon stated weakly. "There was blood and that Amber girl is missing."

My eyes widened. "Do you think it's Stefan?"

His answer was interupted by a knock at the door. A small woman peered round.

"Miss Sophia Gilbert."

"Yes?" I asked.

"Due to the forfeiting of Miss Elena Gilbert and Miss Amber Bradley, you're next on the list to take their place." She explained.

"But I don't have a dress or an escort..." My tone was panicked.

"You have an escort." Damon stated softly.

I smiled at him. "Thank you."

"If you are escorting Miss Gilbert, then you need to be downstairs quickly."

He nodded and left the room.

I could hear Mayor Lockwood beginning to read out the names of the girls participating and those of the forfeiters. Making my way to the top of the stairs, I breathed deeply before putting my hand on the rail of the staircase.

"Miss Sophia Gilbert, escorted by Mister Damon Salvatore." She announced.

I slowly and cautiously made my way down the steps. The crowds began to clap and cheer. I noticed the shocked looks on their faces as they caught a glimpse of the dress I was wearing for such a prestigious event as the Miss Mystic Falls pageant.

Damon walked to the foot of the stairs and smiled as I reached him.

Taking hold of his hand, he began leading me outside.

"Still no sign of Stefan?" I whispered.

"No." He answered.

Making our way outside, Jenna looked at me with a bewildered expression.

"What are we going to do?" I asked.

"Right now, we just have to get through this." He smiled but I could tell that his mind was focused on finding his brother.

That's when I noticed her, Elena was stood amongst the crowd with tears in her eyes.

I waved softly as the music began.

Damon and I bowed to each other before I raised my right hand to his. Walking in a circle, my eyes never left Damon's. Returning to our starting position, I raised my left hand and walked in an anti-clockwise direction. For not being taught the dance properly and only catching a few glimpses of the routine from Elena's rehearsal, the dance went suprisingly without a hitch. As I backed away from Damon, the crowd began to cheer.

Standing on stage, Caroline stood close beside me.

"Where's Amber?" She whispered in my ear.

"I don't know." I answered truthfully.

"Before I crown the winner, I'd like to offer a personal thank you to these young ladies for their efforts to better our community." Mayor Lockwood smiled.

The crowd before us began to applaud.

"So, without further a due it is my honor to announce our very own Miss Mystic Falls..." She paused. "Miss Caroline Forbes!"

I grinned as Caroline excitedly gasped. "Congratulations!"

"I actually won!" Said a shocked Caroline as she threw her arms around me.

"You deserve it." I stated with a smile.

Mayor Lockwood put the banner across Caroline's shoulder.

As I rejoined Damon, he seemed distant.

"What is it, did you find him?" I asked in a worried tone.

"We need to find him. Let's get your coat come on!" We hurried out of the Founder's Hall.

Racing across the grass outside of the hall, I could vaguely see two figures in the distance. A scream pierced through the silence. My eyes widened as we reached the source of the noise. Stefan was biting into Amber's neck.

"Stefan stop it!" I shouted.

Stefan let go of Amber. Her limp body fell to the ground. Looking at me, his eyes were dark red and veiny and his mouth was covered in blood.

"Stefan, come on get control. It's okay, come on. Breath through it man." Damon slowly walked towards him.

Grabbing Damon, he threw him backwards against a tree.

Regaining his balance, Damon got to his feet.

Elena came running over, turning to see her, I noticed that Bonnie was standing behind us.

"Stefan!" She looked so hurt and shocked.

Suddenly, Stefan began to moan in pain. Gripping his head, he collapsed to his knees.

I turned to Bonnie. She stopped her chant.

"It's okay. Stefan." Damon comforted brotherly.

Taking one last look at Elena, he sped off into the forest.

The police arrived minutes later and got Amber conscious and talking. She was sat on the ground with a tin foil blanket around herself. Sheriff Forbes walked over to us.

"She doesn't remember what happened." She stated.

"It's a good thing the girls got here when they did, she lost a lot of blood." Damon explained to her.

"You didn't see anything?" Sheriff Forbes asked Elena, Bonnie and I.

They remained silent. "No, we just found her and then called Damon." I lied.

"Is she gonna be okay?" Bonnie asked softly.

"It looks like it yeah. Why don't you girls get back to the party? Damon and I can take it from here."

I nodded and ushered Bonnie and Elena away towards the hall.

Bonnie walked to her car.

"Bonnie, can we talk about this?" I asked.

"There's nothing to talk about." She stated just as she had at school.

"Bonnie, please!" I begged.

"I told you I wasn't gonna make you choose but I need to make the choice for myself. Please just leave me alone." Bonnie got into her car and quickly drove away.

I sighed.

Elena walked over to me. "Sophia..." She said softly.

"Just...don't..." Walked off, I knew I had to see Stefan.

The Boarding House was open as usual. Entering inside, I walked to Stefan's bedroom and knocked lightly on the door.

Stefan turned to me. He looked so angry. "You shouldn't be here."

"I know, just hear me out." I asked. "What you did today, that wasn't you."

"Oh, it was absolutely me. A monster, a predator, that's who I am Sophia." He stated.

"That's what the blood makes you." I said softly.

"The blood brings out what's inside of me and if you think any differently then you're an idiot."

"Then I guess I'm an idiot." I smirked weakly.

"Tonight, I wanted to drain every ounce of blood from that girl's body." He explained.

"You can try and scare me off, but it's not going to work." I smiled caringly.

"Why would you risk it? Why would you come here?" Stefan asked.

"I care about you Stefan. I know you think that the world is against you right now, but me and Damon were just trying to help you today." I explained. "This isn't you Stefan and you know it isn't."

"Stop saying that!" He screamed.

I approached him slowly. "Stefan."

"Don't get any closer to me, please."

"I'm not gonna let this happen to you." I stated softly. "I can help you through it."

"Stop!" Stefan grabbed me by the throat and slammed me back against the wall.

I struggled for breath. "Stefan..." I wheezed.

Noticing my fear, his eyes widened. It was almost as if the old Stefan had clicked back. Releasing his grip on my neck, he backed away from me. "I'm so sorry." He apoligised in almost a whisper.

"It's okay. It's okay." I comforted.

What I didn't expect was Stefan to rest his head on my shoulder. I've never seen him so broken before. As he began to cry, I gently rubbed his back. "Hey..."

"I don't know what's happening to me." He admitted.

"It's okay, Stefan. Its okay. You're gonna be okay. Everything is going to be fine." I reassured.

Stefan stiffened.

I furrowed an eyebrow. "What the..." As he collapsed to the ground, Elena was stood holding a vervain dart.

"Are you alright?" She asked in a panicked tone.

I nodded before rubbing my neck.

Damon entered the room. "Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked Elena.

She nodded. "I'm sure."

Taking Stefan down to the basement, Damon closed the cell door. "There's no guarantee it's going to work." He explained.

"It has to." Elena answered.

Damon and I walked towards the stairs before noticing Elena wasn't behind us.

"Coming?" He asked.

Elena shook her head. "I'm gonna stay here."

I smiled at Damon before walking back over to Elena and sitting down beside her.

Damon joined us.


	14. Founder's Day

The Founder's Day preparations were in full swing as I walked across the green. Elena had gone off to find Caroline leaving me to idly bide my time. Jenna and Elena had forced me to dress up for the occasion so I was dressed in a less extravegent version of Elena's dress. Looking around, I noticed Damon and walked over.

"Hey." I smiled.

As Damon caught sight of me, his eyes immediately widened. I knew he could see Katherine in me, but I tried to ignore that.

"Wow!" He exclaimed with a grin. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you." I curtsied. "Jenna made this from the leftover fabric from Elena's parade dress for me."

"Jenna's talents show no bounds." Damon smirked before pecking my lips. His expression changed to a more serious one. "Are you okay? You know after everything with your mum?"

I nodded. "Isobel will never be a part of my life, no matter how much she wants to be. The same with John. It doesn't bother me that the people I called my mum and dad weren't my real parents, they looked after me when I was growing up and if anything, it just strengthens my memories of them because I know now that even though they weren't my real parents, they still cared for me as there own. Although I can't change what's happened in the past, they're never going to replace them."

Damon smiled. "It's up to you, don't let anyone make decisions for you."

Stefan walked over dressed in his parade outfit.

"Look at you, all retro." I smiled.

Stefan smiled back at me before turning to Damon. "What are you doing here?" He asked.

"Why wouldn't I be here? Bonnie deactivated the Gilbert invention, Isobel is gone and it's Founder's Day! I'm here to eat cotton candy and spend time with Sophia." Damon answered.

Noticing the tension between the two of them, I quickly tried to change the subject. "Well...Damon and I should probably be off to get a good view for the parade, we'll see you later Stefan." I pulled Damon away before noticing Jeremy. "Jeremy! I was wondering where you were. You look great and you guys did a really great job on the float."

"Go away Sophia." He stated emotionlessly.

"Jeremy come on please! I don't want it to be like this between us."

"Why don't you have Damon erase my memory again? Then I could go back to being your in the dark little brother." Jeremy's expression showed only hate towards me.

"Hey." Damon interrupted. "It wasn't Sophia's fault, if you want someone to blame, blame me, I was the one who took them away not her!"

"Don't worry, I already hate you anyway." He began walking off.

"Jer, please." I called after him.

He turned back to me. "Just don't! You can't fix this that easily; something like this doesn't just get fixed." Jeremy stormed off.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome our stunning Miss Mystic Falls court and their handsome escorts." Mayor Lockwood announced.

Elena, Stefan, Caroline and Matt were all aboard the float as they passed through the streets waving and smiling at the crowds. Upon noticing me, Elena grinned.

"You look amazing!" I mouthed to her.

"Thank you." She replied.

Damon turned.

Furrowing an eyebrow, I turned to see what he was looking at. Bonnie was standing behind us with an uncomfortable expression.

"What do you want?" She asked sternly.

"Just watching the parade." I answered.

"I meant Damon." Bonnie stated.

"Watching the parade with my girlfriend." Damon expanded my previous answer.

She began to leave.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"Away from the two of you."

"Bonnie!" I called after her. "What have I done?" I didn't understand why she had so much hatred towards me.

"I wanna say something to you." Damon stated.

"Just leave me alone." She shook her head.

"Thank you. The device that Emily spelled could have killed me. I don't take what you did lightly so... thank you." He smiled. "I'm grateful and... I owe you."

"I did it for Elena." Bonnie answered.

"Oh come on! What I've done can't of been that bad!" I stated.

She walked off without uttering a word.

After the parade, Damon drove me home. Entering my bedroom, I got some clothes out of the wardrobe before placing them on the chair. Damon sat down on my bed.

"Bonnie hates me! She literally detests me and I don't have a clue what I've done." I stated as I began to change out of my dress.

"It'll pass...One day she'll wake up and realise what she's missing." Damon smiled.

I dressed into a burgundy jumper and shorts before walking over to Damon.

"I like you better like this." He stated. "The real you."

Grabbing hold of my waist, he lifted me up before lying backwards on the bed. I landed on top of him and laughed before kissing his perfect lips.

"I love you." He smiled. "Don't you ever forget that."

"I won't." I answered softly.

**-Third Person POV-**

As Damon walked downstairs, he noticed Elena. "Checking I haven't eaten your sister?" He mocked.

"Look, I know Stefan is worried about our... friendship." She stated.

"Did he mention something to you too?" Damon queried.

"No, did he mention something to you?" Elena asked.

"No, nothing worth repeating." He smiled.

"Don't make me regret being your friend okay?" Elena nodded before walking off.

Damon looked hurt as he too left the house.

Sophia walked downstairs. "Damon?" She furrowed an eyebrow as she began looking around for him. "Damon?"

At the Square, Damon was walking behind an angry looking Jeremy.

"I have so many emotions, but I don't have any way to express them. Being a teenager is so hard!" He pretended to pout.

"You're a dick!" Jeremy stated.

"You do not talk to me like that! I'm not your sister. And for now on." Damon took hold of his arm. "Don't talk to your sister that way either." He warned.

"So, you're going to kill me just 'cause I hurt Sophia's feelings?" Jeremy asked angrily.

"Cut her some slack." Damon sighed.

"She erased my memories." He stated.

"No, I did! She was against it." Damon admitted.

"It wasn't her call to make." Jeremy tried to walk away but Damon was still holding his arm. "Let go of me or I'll cause a scene." He threatened.

"You'll be unconscious before you even got a word out." Damon stated.

Stefan walked over. "Let him go."

He go of Jeremy's arm.

"What my brother is trying to say is don't blame Sophia for this. Damon turned Vicki, I killed her. She was a threat to you and she was a threat to your sisters. I'm sorry that it happened, I wish that it hadn't." Stefan explained.

Damon turned to Stefan with an angered expression.

"Shouldn't have made me forget.." Jeremy walked off.

"Good cop, bad cop, I like it." Damon grinned.

"What are you doing?" Stefan asked.

"He's being a punk." Damon stated.

"Sophia's relationship with her brother is none of your business. So stay out of it!"

"Oh, there's only one "do gooder" role available. My bad I'm sorry." Damon mocked.

Stefan scoffed. "Get over yourself. We both know you're not doing this for the right reasons."

"You see, there you go with that little jealousy act again. What are the right reasons Stefan? Enlighten me please!" Damon stated.

"Well, see Damon, it's only real when it comes from your desire to do the right thing for nothing in return and I know that it is an entirely foreign concept to you. I completely understand that you wouldn't get it." Stefan grinned.

Damon glared at him for a few seconds before leaving.

**-Sophia's POV-** _~Later That Day~_

Making my way through the crowds at the Square, I looked around for Damon. Everything seemed alot more hectic than previous years. The main stage was in sight as I tried to locate someone I recognised. The flocks of spectators were all grinning in anticipation of the fireworks finale to Founder's Day.

**-Anna's POV-**

Noticing Damon, I ran over to him.

"You're still around?" Damon asked.

"There's something you need to know. The vampires from the tomb are planning an attack tonight." I stated in a fearful tone.

Damon's eyes widened. "How do you know this?"

"I went to them. They think I'm with them but I'm not. They want the founding families dead."

"When is this supposed to happen?" Damon asked.

"When the firework start." I explained.

There was a long pause where I could tell Damon was taking it all in.

"John Gilbert wants to use that invention on them." He eventually stated.

"Then we can't be here." I gasped.

"It doesn't work, it's been deactivated." Damon explained.

"Well, then a lot of people are gonna die." I began looking around to try and spot them.

"Where are they right now?" He asked.

"They're already here Damon."

**-Damon's POV-**

Catching sight of Alaric, I rushed over to him. "Rick!"

"Yeah?"

"You keep those nifty little vampires darts in the car?" I asked.

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

"Because this square is crawling with tomb vampires. I think we might need a stake or two." I stated.

"Yeah, got it." Alaric ran off.

Stefan and Elena were merrily laughing. Walking over to them, I took hold of Elena's hand.

"What are you doing?" She asked defensively.

"Saving your life. Fifteen words or less... Tomb vamps are here, founding families are their target." I told Stefan. "Get her out of here, now!" I began to walk off.

"Wait, where are you going?" Stefan shouted after me.

"That's more than fifteen words, Stefan."

**-Sophia's POV-**

"For one hundred and fifty years, Mystic Falls has been the kind of town that everybody wants to call home, safe, prospers, welcoming. And we have the founders to thank for that. That's why I'd like to dedicate this evening's firework display to their legacy." Mayor Lockwood smiled. "Enjoy the show!" He made his way off the stage with Mrs Lockwood as the fireworks began.

**-Damon's POV-**

Entering the Gilbert Building, John was standing at the far side of the room.

"Do you have any idea what you've done?" I asked.

"Yeah, as a matter of fact I do." He stated.

I began walking towards him. As I did, John turned to the Gilbert device and turned the cog. A high pitched tone pierced through my head. Clutching my head, I began to scream as my knees buckled beneath me.

**-Sophia's POV-**

A man dropped to the ground in front of me. I knelt down beside him. "Are you alright?" I asked softly. The screams and cries of panicked spectators heightened as even more people began dropping to the floor. "What the hell?" The man was unconsious and blood trickled down from his ear. As the situation continued, the crowds began to flock away. I gasped as I found myself trapped by the rushing people. Trying to avoid the stampede, I desperately hoped for someone to notice me, but to no avail. "Help!" I screamed. "Help!" Suddenly, I felt a throbbing pain from the back of my head. My vision blurred as everything went black.

**-Third Person POV-**

Two deputies rushed over and injected the vampire and Sophia with vervain.

**-Damon's POV-**

I became aware of my surroundings once again as I was able to flicker my eyes open.

"The device is done; the only thing keeping them down is vervain. We don't have much time, let's finish this." John stated.

I groaned as the vervain had left me weak.

The deputies began pouring petrol over the unconsious vampires.

"You can head up; I'll take it from here." John ordered.

The deputies nodded and walked off upstairs.

"Anna." Said John as he noticed her. He produced a stake from his pocket and knelt down beside her. Positioning it over her heart, he grinned evily at her.

"Please...no!" Anna begged softly.

Piercing the stake into her chest, she gasped as her skin began to dessicate.

I gasped.

Picking up the rest of the can of petrol, he poured some of it on the ground before leading a trail of it up the stairs. Lighting a match, he threw it down before closing the door. As the fire beging to roar down the steps, the vampires came alight in the flames. I could hear their screams as they slowly burned.

**-Sophia's POV-**

"Uhhh!" I groaned as I awoke. Rubbing my head, I tried to remember what had happened. Hearing the sound of screaming, I suddenly looked around. The building I was in was filled with smoke and I could vaguely see the flames of a fire. I squinted as a noticed a familiar figure lying on the floor. Slowly getting to my knees, I crawled across. I began to wheeze due to the levels of smoke, but I knew the fire was a more pressing danger. Looking down at the figure, I gasped. "Damon!"

**-Damon's POV-**

"Sophia!" My eyes widened in horror. "Why are you here?" I asked in a panicked tone.

"People just started dropping outside." I stated. "I knelt down next to one of them to see if he was alright and got kicked in the back so I'm guessing I got knocked out." She explained.

I nodded before attempting to sit up. Sophia helped me. "Sophia you need to get out here." I stated softly.

By now, Sophia's eyes were filled with tears. She shook her head. "I'm not leaving you." Sophia rested her head against my chest.

I wrapped my arms around her as she began to cough. The smoke was affecting her more than it was me. I could hear her soft cries as I began to stroke her hair gently.

Suddenly, one of the wooden beams of the ceiling fell to the floor.

Sophia's heart rate heightened in fear. I hated being this useless. I hated seeing her cry and I hated the possibility that she might die here with me.

As the flames began to approach, I held her tight to sheild her from them.

"I love you." She whispered softly in my ear.

A tear escaped down my cheek as the words left her lips in such a fearful tone. "I love you too." I smiled. Her body began to lightly shake from lack of oxygen. I knew she was hurting and that she was trying to hide it from me. I could hear her breaths becoming shorter and shorter. "Hold on Sophia..." I said softly.

**-Stefan's POV-**

I gasped. "Wait, wait, wait."

"Stefan what is it?" Asked Elena.

"I can hear them. The building is on fire." I stated before sprinting off. "It's your families old building. You know the building well, is there another entrance in?"

"Utility door, there's one around the side." Elena stated.

I nodded before speeding off. As I reached the utility door, I pulled it open.

"Hey, you can't go in there!" Shouted Bonnie. "The fire will take you out."

"He's my brother Bonnie." I stated before rushing inside. Making my way down the corridor, I came to the door that led down to the basement. Placing my hand on the doorknob, the heat burnt my hand. "Ahh!" I moaned. Breathing deeply, I quickly turned it before swinging open the door. My eyes widened as the flames roared out. I backed away as I desperately tried to think of a way to get down. To my amazement, the flames died down. Guessing that Bonnie was responcible for this freak occurence, I took the oppurtunity and raced down the steps. I noticed a figure sitting up. It was him. "Damon!" I rushed over before noticing who he was holding.

"You need to get Sophia out of here!" He stated.

Sophia shook her head. "I can walk..." She coughed.

I nodded and put my arm around Damon's body helping him up. Speeding up to the first floor, Sophia followed.

**-Sophia's POV-**

Following Stefan and Damon out of the building, I coughed as my lungs refilled with beautiful oxygen. I'd never take breathing for granted again. Elena's eyes widened in shock before she rushed over and wrapped her arms around me.

"Oh my god, Sophia!" She panicked. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine Elena." I smiled.

**-Damon's POV-** _~Later That Night~_

I walked into Jeremy's room.

"What are you doing here?" He furrowed an eyebrow as he noticed me.

"Anna's dead" I stated softly.

"I figured that once they took her away." Jeremy looked down.

"I know you cared about her."

"Yeah I did." He admitted.

"I saw her killed. I was watching and all I could think about was... I wanted to help her but I couldn't." It was eating away at me inside that I was unable to help her.

"Why are you telling me all this?" Jeremy asked.

"I took away your suffering once before, I can do it again but it's your choice." I smiled softly.

"Look, I know you think you took it away but it's still there. Even if I can't remember why. I still feel empty, alone and making me forget won't fix it. It won't fix what's really wrong." Jeremy explained.

"What I did to Vicki was wrong. Sorry for my part." I apoligised.

"Anna said that vampires don't have to feel pain; that they could turn it off if they shut out their humanity."

"It's very true." I nodded.

"Is it easier that way?" He asked.

"Is what easier?"

"Life?" Jeremy stated.

"Life sucks either way, Jeremy, but at least if you're a vampire you don't have to feel bad about it if you don't want to." I explained.

"Is that what you did?" Jeremy asked.

"I did it for a... I did it for a very long time and life was a lot easier." I smiled slightly before walking off downstairs. Opening the front door, Sophia was on the doorstep.

"What are you doing here?" Sophia smiled.

"Failed and feeble attempt of doing the right thing." I stated.

"Which was...?" She asked.

"It's not important. You know, I came to this town wanting to destroy it. Tonight I found myself wanting to protect it. How does that happen? I'm not a hero, Sophia. I don't do good. It's not in me. But when we were in that basement and I thought we weren't going to make it out, I found myself regretting all of the things I did to hurt you. The thought of losing you..."

"Hey." Sophia interrupted softly. "What's in the past, is in the past..." She smiled. "What matters is now."

**-Sophia's POV-**

Damon smiled before leaning towards me. As his lips touched mine, everything seemed perfect. As he placed his hands on the side of my face, I closed my eyes. The moment lasted for a few beautiful minutes until he pulled away. Our eyes met.

"Goodnight Damon." I smiled before walking into the house.


	15. The Last Day

Walking through the Salvatore Boarding House, I looked in each room in search of Damon. He seemed quiet this morning which was very un-characteristic.

"Good morning Sophia." Said a voice from behind me.

I turned to see. "Elijah?"

"Tonight is the full moon. We should assume that Klaus is prepared to break the curse." Elijah explained.

"Elena said that the Sun and the Moon curse is fake? That it's actually just a curse placed on Klaus." I questioned.

"Klaus is a vampire born of a werewolf bloodline. The curse has kept his werewolf aspect from manifesting. But if he breaks it... He'll be a true hybrid."

Damon walked in. "Then why are we letting him break the curse? We can kill him today. With Bonnie."

"Damon..." Stefan spoke up.

"No. Bonnie can't use that much power without dying." Elena stated.

"I'll write her a great eulogy." Damon looked upset, I could tell he was hiding away his feelings behind a curtain of Damon humour.

"It's not an option, Damon." Elena turned to Stefan and held his hand.

"All right, how do we break this curse?" Stefan asked.

"Well, the ritual itself is relatively straightforward. The ingredients, so to speak, you already know."

"The moonstone." Stefan stated.

"A witch will channel the power of the full moon to release the spell that's bound within the stone. After that, Klaus, being both werewolf and vampire, will sacrifice one of each."

"So where do we fit in?" I asked.

"The final part of the ritual." Elijah picked up a wooden box from the side table. "Klaus must drink the blood of the doppelganger, to the point of your death." He looked at Elena. "He then must drink from his source of power." Elijah turned to me before taking a bottle out of the box. " This is an elixir that I acquired some 500 years ago for Katerina. It possesses mystical properties of resuscitation."

"So I'll be dead?" Elena asked.

"And then you won't." He replied.

"That's your plan? A magical witch potion with no expiration date?" Damon looked at Elena. "You want to come back to life, what about John's ring?"

"Those rings only work on humans. The doppelgänger's a supernatural occurrence. Odds are, the ring won't work." Elijah explained.

"What if it doesn't work, Elena?" I asked.

"Then I guess I'll just be dead." Elena answered.

Standing outside the library, I began to overhear Elena and Elijah's conversation.

"You'd think they'd understand why I'm willing to do this." Elena stated.

"Why are you?" Elijah asked.

"I'm the key to breaking the curse. If I don't stop him, then he's going to hurt people. It's that simple."

"But it's not though, is it..." I walked into the room. "I read the grimoire for your potion, it only works on one person."

Elena looked at me with a shocked expression before turning to Elijah. "So one of us will die?"

"Once Klaus has drank from you to the point of death, your blood will become useless to him. Sophia's blood will become the ingredient he needs to create hybrids. He won't kill you." Elijah explained.

"And you can guarentee that!" Elena stated sternly.

"No, but I know my brother. I must also warn you that there is a chance that the exilir won't work. I don't want to mislead you."

"So we could both die?" I asked.

He nodded. "Sadly, yes."

Shouting could be heard from down the hall. Quickly running to the source of the noise, Jenna was aiming a crossbow at Alaric.

"Get out!" She screamed.

"Jenna!" Alaric held up his hands. "Jenna, put the cross-bow down, ok? It's me."

"Stay away from me." She shouted.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"It's me, Sophia, I swear, ok? He let me go. Klaus let me go." Alaric stated hastily.

"Prove it." Damon said joining us.

"Ok, uh, first night you and I spent together, Jeremy walked in right when I was about to..."

"Okay, it's him." Jenna put down the crossbow without him even needing to finish his sentence.

I smirked.

"Why did he let you go?" Asked Stefan.

"He wanted me to deliver a message. The sacrifice happens tonight." He explained.

"So you don't remember anything that happened?" Elena smiled softly.

"No. It's like I blacked out and woke up 3 days later. Katherine was there."

"She's under compulsion. Damon snuck her some vervain, but she can't leave until Klaus tells her she can." Stefan caught him up.

"Where is Damon?" I asked noticing that he had snuck off.

"I saw him go upstairs." Jenna answered.

I nodded and walked off down the corridor to his room.

Entering his bedroom, Damon was looking out of the window across the room.

"You disappeared."

"I don't want to hear anymore." He replied.

"I need you to understand why we have to do this." I stated softly.

"Why? It clearly doesn't matter what I think." Damon seemed hurt that he has no control over the situation. "I heard you talking to Elijah. You're going to let Elena drink the elixir aren't you?" He walked over me.

"I'm not going to let Elena die and I'm Klaus' source of power once Elena's blood becomes useless. We can't let him create hybrids."

"There has to be another way, I'm not going to let you die!" He placed his hands on the sides of my face.

"It's my life, Damon. My choice." I said taking hold of his hands.

"I can't lose you." His eyes were filled with pain and fear.

"You won't." I kissed him softly on the lips with a smile before heading for the door.

"There is another way." He stated from behind me.

"What?" I furrowed an eyebrow before turning around.

Damon's fangs retracted as he bit into the skin of his wrist.

My eyes widened. "Damon, no!"

Grabbing me, he held his wrist to my mouth. The blood began to trickle down my throat. The bitter taste made me retch. My struggles were useless as I desperately tried to push him off me.

Suddenly, Stefan pushed Damon from me.

I fell to the ground.

"What did you do?! Huh? What did you do?!" Stefan shouted before kneeling down beside me.

"I saved her life." Damon stated. "You're so bent on dying, at least this way I know you'll come back."

"As a vampire! She'll come back a vampire!" Stefan looked as shocked as I did.

"It's better than nothing else."

"How could you, of all people, take that choice away from her?" Stefan asked.

Damon looked at me. "Go ahead; wish me an eternity of misery. Believe me, you'll get over it."

Looking at the blood and the saddened look in my eyes, Stefan sped at Damon and threw him backwards across the room.

"Stefan!" I shouted desperately wanting him to stop fighting.

Regaining his balance, Damon grabbed the wooden stand of the now broken lamp and pushed Stefan against the wall. "Admit it. You just wish you had the balls to do it to Elena."

Stefan punced Damon causing him to release his grip. Continuing to punch him, Damon fell to the floor with blood on his face.

"Stop!" I screamed clambering to my feet and standing between Stefan and Damon. "Stop it!"

Stefan backed off and looked at me.

Elena ran into the room. "Stefan!"

I turned to Damon. A part of me felt sorry for him while at the same time I was so angry at him for what he had just done.

Elena left the room with Stefan.

Holding out my hand, I smiled weakly. "You shouldn't have done that you know."

He took hold of my hand and got up. "I'm suprised you're even talking to me."

"Yeah well, life's too short." I took hold of his hands once again. I could tell that Damon was feeling guilty. "Look at me." I said softly.

His eyes finally fixed on mine.

"I don't hate you Damon." I kissed him gently.

"I'm so sorry." He apoligised in almost a whisper before walking off out of the room.

I sighed before sitting down on the edge of Damon's bed and burying my head in my hands.

"Sophia..." Said a voice.

I looked up to see Stefan in the doorway.

Wiping away tears, I smiled. "It's just me being stupid, that's all."

"You're not being stupid at all. We've never talked about this. What this all means." He said softly.

"It doesn't matter." I said shaking my head.

"Of course it matters." Stefan sat down next to me on the bed. "Hey." He looked at me. "It matters. I want you to go somewhere with me."

"Stefan, I can't." I began.

"No, no, it's not far, ok? It's just for the day. I promise." He reassured.

Stefan refused to tell me where we were going. All I knew was that the destination was only a few minutes away from the Boarding House. I looked around at our surroundings. "Where are we?"

"It's a surprise. Just a little bit longer." He explained before walking off.

"I'm not a vampire yet, you know. My legs still get tired." I smirked.

"Ready to talk about how you're feeling about all this?" He asked. Stefan has always been like a second brother to me. I could always open up to him and know that he would listen.

"Uh... this morning I was wondering if I would live or die, and now... I'm going to be a vampire. I... I don't really know how I'm feeling." I explained.

A waterfall came into view.

"God, this is beautiful." I exclaimed with a smile.

"I think you do know how you feel. I just want you to know that it's okay to tell me." He stated before looking up at the waterfall. I noticed his expression.

"We're climbing all the way up to the top?" I asked.

"Oh, yeah." He smirked.

"Well, can't you do one of your super power vampire jumpy things?" I called.

"No, it's your last day as a human. Why cheat now?" He walked off.

"I guess Bonnie will have to make me a daylight ring." I stated as we started our ascent to the top of the waterfall.

"Yeah, piece of cake."

"And I'll never be able to watch "Bambi" again." I smirked.

"I definitely wouldn't recommend doing that." Stefan laughed.

"What's the best part about being a vampire?" I asked.

"Ahh. You feel like you could do anything. Be anyone. Beautiful things are more beautiful. Everything's heightened, you just live more intensely, love more powerfully." He explained.

"And the worst?"

"Anger becomes rage. When you're sad, you're in despair. Grief. Loss. It can cripple you. That's why so many of us turn our emotions off. It just becomes...too overwhelming. You know, for a while, for me, the good just wasn't worth the bad."

Reaching the top of the waterfall, I smiled. "We made it!"

"That's nothing, if you've climbed Mt. Everest." Stefan grinned.

"Nobody likes a bragger." I smirked.

Looking around at the landscape beneath us, I gasped. "Oh wow!"

"Yeah. Hey, you can say it."

I turned to him. "Say what?"

"The thing that you've been wanting to say, but have been afraid of how it'll make me feel." He stated.

"There's nothing I can say, Stefan. It's not going to change anything."

"Might make you feel better. Look, I know this isn't the first time you've thought about it. Drinking vampire blood to survive. I mean, I know I've thought about it a hundred times." He reassured.

"And before all this with Klaus, did you think about it then?"

"Of course I did. Sophia, if it were my choice, I'd want you and Elena to live forever." He explained.

"Why have you never brought it up?" I asked softly.

"Cause I knew if it was an option, you and Elena would have. It would be selfish for me to ask you."

"Didn't stop Damon." I stated.

"He shouldn't have done what he did. He did it because he loves you."

"I know that. But my future? My life together with Damon? Those were things I was supposed to deal with as they came along. I was supposed to grow up." My eyes became tearful. "Decide if I want to have kids and start a family. Grow old. I was supposed to have a lifetime of those choices, and now? That's all gone."

"Hey, say it." Said Stefan softly.

"I don't want to be a vampire, Stefan. I never wanted to be one."

"I know. It's okay." Stefan wrapped his arms around me as I cried. "Everything's going to be alright, I promise."

Returning to the car, Stefan's phone began to ring. He answered it quickly.

"Elena?"

"Stefan, Klaus is here!" Her tone was fear filled.

"Stay in the house, I'll be right there." He panicked before hanging up.

"Just go, honestly, I can get back." I reassured.

"I can't just leave you here."

"Just go, I'll be fine. Elena needs you." I smiled.

He nodded before getting into his car and speeding off.

"I thought he'd never leave!" Came a voice from behind me before everything went black.

**-Elena's POV-**

Greta ushered me through the forest. "Where are we going?"

"This way." She stated sternly.

"You're Luka's sister, aren't you? I heard about you. He and your father were looking for you." I explained.

"Well, they were wasting their time. I wasn't lost."

Tripping on a rock, I stumbled forwards before regaining my balance. "God, I can't see anything."

Greta chanted quietly before the ground came alight.

A figure lay on the ground in front of me. My eyes widened as realisation of who the person was set in. "Jenna?" Rushing over, I knelt down beside her and shook her desperately. "Jenna! Jenna!" I tried to find a pulse, but it wasn't there. "Oh, my God. No. Jenna! No!" I turned to Greta. "He killed her? Why? I did everything that he asked."

Jenna gasped as she botled upright.

"She's not dead. She's in transition." Stated Greta.


	16. The Sun Also Rises

**-Elena's POV-**

"Oh, my head. What's wrong with me?" Jenna moaned.

"Do you remember what happened?" I asked softly.

"You called me. You were so scared. Oh, ah, I should have realized that it wasn't you. The second I walked out of the house, someone grabbed me. A vampire." She explained.

"Klaus. It was Klaus." I stated.

"He made me drink his blood. And I don't... I don't remember anything after that."

A vampire began to descend the path. He had something in his arms. I squinted as I tried to work out what he was holding. As he came closer, my eyes widened. "Sophia!" I panicked. The vampire dropped her down on the ground. I quickly rushed over to her and shook her frantically. "Sophia...Sophia please wake up." Blood trickled from the bite marks on her neck.

**-Sophia's POV-**

I felt my eyelids lighten as the pain set in. "Uhh." I moaned quietly. Opening my eyes, Elena was next to me. "Lena..." I smiled with a hoarse voice.

"Sophia." She wrapped her arms around me.

"Where are we?" I asked sitting up.

"We're at the quarry. He brought us here." Elena explained.

I noticed Jenna behind her. "Jenna!" I gasped before looking at Elena. "Why's Jenna here? She's not part of the ritual."

"She is now!" Greta stated with an evil grin.

Then realisation kicked in. "Is she?..."

Elena nodded softly.

I breathed heavily in fear before walking over to her. "Jenna, listen to me. Listen to me; everything's going to be ok. We're going to get you out of here." I reassured.

"I'm a vampire?" She asked.

"And I bet you're hungry!" Greta smiled.

"No!" I shouted sternly before grabbing a large rock from the ground. As I was about to throw it at her, she raised her arm and chanted something. Suddenly, I felt myself flying backwards through the air until I landed bluntly on the hard ground of the quarry. A ring of fire appeared around me. Turning to Elena, one had appeared round her too. Walking towards the edge of the circle, the temperature increased as the flicker of the flame singed the hairs on my arm.

"Don't bother trying to get through. I spelled the circle. You're trapped. No matter what you do." She explained.

"Greta... Please, just- just let her go." Elena begged.

"Klaus chose her." Greta cut her wrist with a rock and held her arm out to Jenna. "Drink it."

"Jenna don't!" Elena screamed.

"I can't." Jenna stated.

"Let her go. Hey!" I screamed.

Jenna's eyes showed her thirst as she slowly began to drink the blood.

"No!" I felt so useless. "Jenna. It's going to be ok." I reassured.

A third ring of fire appeared around Jenna.

**-Third Person POV-**

At the abandoned house, Jeremy and Bonnie were hastily reading through grimoires.

"This is useless. All these grimoires. There has to be something in here to keep Sophia from becoming a vampire." Jeremy stated.

"We'll keep looking. Until the last minute." Bonnie reassured.

Elijah, Stefan and Alaric arrived at the house.

"The sacrifice is completed in stages as the full moon sets. First the werewolf is killed, then the vampire. Finally the doppelganger. Once Elena dies, the curse will be broken. It is then that he must drink the blood of his source of power, which is Sophia. Klaus will then become a hybrid." Elijah explained.

"So when do we attack?" Alaric asked.

"Sophia's blood will activate his dormant werewolf side. He'll be vulnerable during the transformation. That's when Bonnie comes in."

"And you're sure Bonnie will survive this?" Stefan questioned.

"If she can deliver him to the brink of death, I'll finish the job myself." Elijah stated.

Stefan phone began to ring.

"Damon." He answered.

"You're not going to like what I'm about to say." Damon stated.

"Cut to the chase. Is the sacrifice happening or not?"

"It's happening. I tried to stop it, but it got... Complicated." He emphasised.

"We're sticking with the original plan. We're meeting Bonnie right now." Stefan explained.

"He's got Jenna, Stefan."

"What?" Stefan exclaimed.

"He got Katherine to lure her out of the house. He's going to use her as the vampire in the ritual."

"Oh, my god!" Stefan turned to Alaric.

"What is it? What's wrong?" He asked with a worried expression.

**-Sophia's POV-**

"How are you feeling?" Elena asked Jenna.

"I feel like myself... Only not. Everything is brighter. The fire's hotter. Part of me is terrified, but there's another part of me that doesn't want to feel anything." Jenna described.

"Vampires can turn off the part that's human. That's the part that hurts." I explained.

"I'm gonna die, aren't I?" She asked.

"No! Jenna, I'm not going to let that happen. I don't care what I have to do." I stated firmly.

Someone was screaming.

"Who's that?" Jenna furrowed an eyebrow.

"That must be the werewolf." I stated.

Greta dropped Jules to the ground. As she did, she continued to scream in pain.

"What's happening to me?" Jules asked.

"I cast a spell to slow down your transformation. Your insides are trying to tear themselves free." Greta explained before casting a fourth circle around her.

"Greta, witches are supposed to maintain the balance in nature. It's your duty to them to keep this curse sealed." Elena stated.

"My duty is to Klaus! The new order."

Klaus walked down the path. "Glad to know I still have a dance partner." He looked at the four of us. "Hello, my lovelies. Are we ready?" Klaus handed the moonstone to Greta. "I've got the moonstone. I spent 500 years looking for this. I hate to part with it."

"The moon has passed its apex. Remember everything you need to do?" Greta asked.

"I remember." He stated before Greta threw the moonstone into the bowl destroying it.

Klaus looked at Jules. "Shall we?" He grinned evily. The circle around her dissapeared before Klaus walked over to her. Jules tried to run but Klaus grabbed her and in one swift movement, ripped her heart from her chest.

I gasped as her limp body dropped to the ground.

Walking back over to Greta, Klaus held Jules' heart above the bowl and squeezed it so that her blood poured down. The blood began to bubble.

"Does that mean it's working?" He asked.

"It's working." Greta stated.

I turned to Jenna.

"The day that the lawyers called to tell me that I was going to become your guardian, you know what my first thought was? Isn't there someone else who can do this?" Jenna explained.

"Jenna, there was no one else who could have gotten us through all of that." I said gratefully.

"It's just the thought that I almost passed up taking care of you."

"But you didn't. You put your entire life on hold to help us." Elena stated.

"Look around. I failed you both." Jenna looked so upset and scared.

"No. You didn't. We failed you. I'm so sorry. Listen. Being a vampire, it intensifies your guilt. But it also makes you stronger and faster. You can fight back. Elena and I are going get through this. We'll be ok. I need you to believe that. Promise me, when you get the chance... Run." I instructed.

Jenna nodded.

"Hello, Jenna." Klaus walked over to her.

"Let her go. I understand that we have to die, but she doesn't!" I walked closer to the fire.

"Careful." Klaus stated.

"Elena, don't." Jenna begged.

"No, Jenna! We can't leave Jeremy without a family." I looked at Klaus. "We followed your rules; we did everything that you asked. We didn't run. Please."

"Well, well. I don't recall you being on the guest list." Klaus commented.

I furrowed an eyebrow.

Klaus looked up.

I followed his gaze to the cliffs. Stefan stood at the top.

Klaus sped off.

**-Third Person POV-**

Damon entered the room.

"We found something in the Gilbert journals." Bonnie stated.

"Jonathan journaled the story of a mother who called on Emily's services. The woman's baby was sick; dying. Emily cast a spell that would bind the woman's life force with her child." John explained.

"Skip to the save Sophia part." Said Damon bluntly.

"Well, the child died, but the mother's life force flowed through her, restoring her to life."

"We already know Sophia's going to come back to life but she'll be a vampire." Jeremy stated.

"Not if her soul remains intact."

"Her soul, really? You're going to put your faith in some act of god mumbo jumbo?" Damon asked.

"I refuse to let Sophia become the thing I've spent my life protecting her against. And you can call that god or mystical energy, whatever you want, but yes, I'm putting my faith in it."

"What's going on?" Elena asked in a panicked tone.

"I-I don't know." I stated before turning to Jenna. "You can hear them. You can hear anything. Just focus on them." She did as I asked.

"What are they saying?"

"I can't-I can't make it out." She mumbled.

"You can do this. Just relax. Focus." Elena reassured.

"I can hear them. I can hear Stefan." Jenna stated.

"What are they saying?" I asked.

Her eyes widened. "Oh, my god."

"What is it?" Elena looked petrified.

"He wants to take my place."

"I have to do something. This can't happen. None of it." Elena paced backwards and forwards.

Klaus and Stefan arrived.

"Quite the predicament. You know, it's funny, all this talk about preserving family, and here's Stefan, granting your wish." Klaus smiled.

"Stefan..." Elena said quietly.

"It's okay." He smiled softly.

"Well. Who's it going to be, Elena?" Klaus asked.

"No!" She stated sternly.

"Oh, don't worry. There's actually no choice." He grinned before staking Stefan in the back.

I gasped. "Stefan!"

"I have other plans for your boyfriend Elena. I want him alive. But for now..." Klaus snapped Stefan's neck allowing his limp unconscious body to fall to the ground. "Whenever you're ready, Greta."

The ring of fire around Jenna vanished. "Your turn."

"No, Jenna, no!" I begged tearfully.

"It's alright. I know what I have to do." She stated before speeding over to Greta and biting into the skin of her neck. Klaus grabbed her and thrusted a stake into her heart. She fell to the ground.

"Jenna, no! Just turn it off. Jenna. Turn it off. You won't be scared anymore." I shouted in a distraught tone.

As her skin dessicated, a single tear ran down her cheek.

"No! Jenna! No! Jenna!" I cried.

"It's time." Klaus walked over to Elena.

Her circle dissaapeared. She silently walked over to the altar.

"Lena, no!" I begged.

"Thank you, Elena." Klaus smiled.

"Go to hell." Elena stated sternly.

Klaus bit into Elena's neck and began drinking her blood.

Tears flooded down my cheeks as I breathed heavily. My hand was clamped over my mouth as I watched my sister being drank dry in front of my eyes.

Elena gasped before her eyes rolled back. She dropped to the ground dead.

"No!" I screamed.

Blood dripped from Klaus' mouth.

Stefan began to awake. He looked at Elena dead on the altar. "No." He said sadly before his eyes noticed me. "Sophia, I am so sorry."

"Are they going to kill him?" I whispered.

Stefan nodded.

The circle around me vanished but I couldn't bring myself to run.

"The last piece of the puzzle." Klaus walked over to me and pulled me to my feet. "Such a pretty girl." He smiled pushing a strand of hair behind my ear. "Such a shame." He bit deep into my neck. The pain was numb from what I had witnessed. It wasn't long before everything went black.

**-Third Person POV-**

"I can feel it. It's happening. Yes, yes!" Klaus shouted.

As the transformation began, Bonnie appeared and began chanting. Klaus dropped to the ground screaming in pain. Damon snapped Greta's neck as he made his way over to the altar. Picking up Elena's body, he brought her to Stefan. Gently lying her down on the ground beside him, he pulled the broken stake from Stefan's back.

"You need to get her back to the house." Damon stated.

Stefan could hardly look at Damon.

"What?" Damon asked.

"It's Sophia Damon." He explained softly. "He killed her."

Damon's eyes widened as he looked around. Noticing Sophia, he sped over to her. "No!" Blood poured down her neck from the large wound. Holding back tears, Damon took her in his arms and sped off.

**-Jeremy's POV-**

Reading through the rest of the journal, my eyes widened as I discovered a detail John didn't mention. "Did you read all this?" I asked.

John turned to me with a saddened but strong look. "I did."

"So you understand what happened to the child's mother after the baby was brought back to life?"

"She saved her daughter. She found peace." He explained.

"John..." I began.

John walked over and gave me two envelopes one adressed to Elena, the other Sophia. "I need you to give them these for me and this to Sophia." He handed over his Gilbert Ring. "Take care of each other. Please." He smiled before nodding.

**-Damon's POV-**

As I looked down at Sophia, she looked so vunerable. 'Please wake up, this wolrd is not worth living in if you're not there to explore it with me'. I thought. Walking in the house, Stefan was already there with Elena. I placed Sophia softly down on the couch before kneeling down beside her. "If you come back as a vampire, I promise that I'll help you through it every step of the way. You won't be alone." I said softly as I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Because I can't stand the idea of you hating me forever."

Alaric and Jeremy rushed to the doorway.

"How is she?" Jeremy asked.

"I don't know yet." I answered truthfully.

"What about Jenna?" Alaric asked.

Stefan and I exchanged glances before I looked back at Alaric and shaking my head slightly. I then turned to Jeremy. "I'm sorry, Jeremy." I said softly.

A gasp could be heard, I turned quickly to see Elena awaken. Stefan quickly wrapped his arms around her in sheer relief.

Elena smiled before she noticed Sophia. Her eyes widened. "No!" She shouted. "No, no, no, Sophia!" Elena sat down next to her on the couch and held her gently. Stroking her hair, tears flowed down her eyes. "Sophia..." She begged. "Sophia please wake up..."

**-Sophia's POV-**

I gasped as I awoke in the old abandoned house. Damon placed his hands on the side of my face as he looked into my eyes.

"How do you feel?" He asked in a soft tone.

"I feel fine." I smiled.

Damon sighed in relief.

I kissed him softly on the lips.

Looking around, Elena was holding me. Her makeup was heavily smudged due to crying. "I'm so glad you're okay." Elena smiled.

The next morning I awoke knowing what lay ahead that day. Getting dressed into my black dress and heels, I began putting in my silver heart shaped earrings. Jeremy walked into the room.

"I'm almost ready." I said securing the back of the earring.

"Take your time." He smiled weakly before taking an envelope from his trouser pocket and handing it to me. "John wanted me to give you this. And this." He gave me John's ring.

"Jeremy, I'm so sorry that you've lost so many people." I apoligised softly.

"I still have you and Elena." He stated.

I nodded before pulling him into a hug. When Jeremy left, I sat down at the window seat and opened the letter.

'Sophia, it's no easy task being an ordinary parent to an extraordinary child. I failed in that task. And because of my prejudices, I failed you. I'm haunted by how things might have played out differently. If I'd been more willing to hear your side of things. For me, it's the end. For you, a chance to grow old and someday do better with your own child than I did with mine. It's for that child that I give you my ring. Even though we have had our ups and downs, I want you to know that you and Elena are the most beautiful and strong minded daughters a parent could hope to have. I deeply regret some of the things I have said to you but I don't ask for your forgiveness or for you to forget. I ask only that you believe this. Whether you are now reading this as a human or as a vampire, I love you all the same as I've always loved you, and always will. John.'


	17. As I Lay Dying

The door of the boarding was unlocked as usual. As I entered I caught sight of Damon by the window. He drunk the remainder of his glass of scotch before putting it down on the side table and opening the red velvet curtains. I slowly and quietly snook down the hallway. Something seemed wrong, his skin seemed pale and I faintly heard the sound of him groaning in pain. Slowly, he began removing his daylight ring from his finger before he dropped it to the ground. His skin immediately began to burn in the sunlight. I sprinted down the hallway and pushed him out the way of the sunlight. We both fell to the ground as I landed on top of him. "Damon..." I said softly. Tears ran down my cheeks as I pressed my lips to his.

"Sophia..." He smiled before kissing me once again.

"Why?" My shaken voice struggled to speak as I held him tight in my arms. That's when I noticed it. I furrowed an eyebrow as I moved the sleeve of his shirt to reveal a werewolf bite. I looked into his broken pain filled eyes. "No..." I could hardly breathe as the reality sunk in. My head began to spin.

"I was going to tell you..." He began.

"Before or after you killed yourself!" I stumbled to my feet and began walking across the living room.

Damon used the couch to get to his feet. "Sophia...please!" He struggled before following me across the room.

I turned to him. "You can't be dying..." I said softly while shaking my head in disbelief. I felt sick from shock.

He wrapped his arms around me and held me close. Damon gently stroked my hair.

"There must be a cure..." I said tearfully.

"There's no cure Sophia..." Damon groaned in pain.

"Damon!" I supported him. "We'll find a cure. I promise." I slid out the vervain dart that Alaric had given me from my pocket and stuck it into his back.

Damon groaned before looking at me. He fell to the ground and lay there still.

Stefan entered the boarding house and noticed Damon. He walked over to me. "Why did you vervain him?" He asked softly.

My hands were shaking. "He tried to kill himself Stefan."

"We need to get him downstairs before the vervain wears off." Stefan walked over to Damon and lifted him onto his shoulder before walking down to the cellar. There, he placed Damon onto the floor of the cell before closing the old wooden door and pulling across the bolt. "He won't be down for long."

"Stefan..." I said comfortingly as I noticed the look of fear and sadness on Stefan's face.

"It's not over. I spoke with Emily Bennett, there might be a cure..." He paused. "But I have to find Klaus to get it." He began walking away.

"He's gonna kill you." I took hold of his arm.

"He had the chance to kill me, but he didn't. Whatever Damon's done, whatever has led him here, I'm the one that made him become a vampire in the first place, so if there's a chance for a cure, I owe it to him to find it." He smiled softly. "Be careful..."

I nodded.

Stefan walked off up the stairs.

I slid down the wall and leant back against the cell door. I pulled my knees up to my chest.

"Sophia..." Called Damon weakly.

My heart broke as I heard him call my name.

"Sophia..." He called again.

I tried not to cry as I sat silently.

Damon began coughing violently.

I quietly shot up and looked through the bars of the cell. He lay on his side and was coughing up blood. "Damon..." I said quietly and softly.

"You shouldn't be here Sophia." He stated.

I shook my head. "I'm staying Damon. You shouldn't have to go through this alone."

Alaric descended the stairs. "Sophia, he's right you should go. I can take it from here."

"I'm fine-" I began.

"Sophia..." He cut me off. "I've got this." He smiled.

I nodded and walked off up the stairs.

**-Alaric's POV-**

I noticed the bite on his arm as I made my way to the door of the cell. "Well, that looks bad."

"It feels worse." Damon lay with his head against the stone wall.

I placed his daylight ring and a glass onto the ledge of the cell door.

"Please tell me you have something for that." He asked.

"Double shot." I poured out the scotch into the glass before drinking from the bottle.

"That's good." Damon used the wall to support himself as he struggled to his feet and clambered over to the door. "Oh good." He put on his ring before taking the glass and drinking from it. "So my brother sent you for suicide watch?" He asked.

"He's just trying to help. It's not fair on Sophia you know..."

"I didn't think she was down the hallway..." He took another drink from the glass.

"Yeah well she was. She shouldn't have had to witness that Damon." I lectured softly.

"I feel guilty enough already, lets not add more to the list..." Damon screamed in pain as he became almost bent double.

I turned away as he groaned and coughed.

"You should want me dead. I'm the reason Jenna got killed." He made his way across the cell.

"I don't blame you for Jenna." I drank from the bottle once again.

"Oh, sure you do. Let's not forget I turned your wife into a vampire. You must really hate me for that one."

"Ok, give me your glass. Neither one of us is drunk enough for this conversation." I said defeatedly.

Damon drank the remainder of his glass before making his way back over to the door. He placed down the glass before grabbing my throat. "Kill me. Please." His eyes were so desperate.

"Screw you." I injected a vervain dart into his hand.

"No." Damon fell to the floor. He wheezed as he lay on the ground. "Sophia?"

"Sophia's not here, Damon." I rubbed my neck before walking off upstairs.

**-Sophia's POV-**

A loud noise from outside caused me walk out of the boarding house and onto the porch. Suddenly, someone clamped their hand over my mouth.

"Don't make a sound." It was Sheriff Forbes.

In the Sheriff's office, I paced backwards and forwards desperate to be with Damon. The door opened. "Where's Damon? What have you done to him?" I asked.

"Why do you even care? You know what they are, what they do." Sheriff Forbes stated.

"Look, I understand why you hate them, but you're wrong." I explained.

"They're murderers, Sophia. End of story."

A deputy came to the doorway. "Damon Salvatore was just spotted outside entering The Grill."

"Wait. You've gotta let me come with you. He's sick. He's not himself." I pleaded.

"Keep her here." Sheriff Forbes left the office.

I quickly tried to escape but the deputy blocked my path. Closing and locking the door, I was trapped. Looking around, I noticed the wooden shutters. I opened them before picking up the desk chair and throwing it threw the window smashing it.

I desperately sprinted through the square in search of Damon. I hoped that he hadn't been caught or worse, killed. Running past the screening of Gone With The Wind, I heard a faint voice from behind me.

"Sophia..."

I turned to see Damon. His face was sweat drenched and his eyes were filled with pain. "Damon." I grabbed hold of him as his body progressively weakened. "Hey, come on. Come on. We have to get you out of here. We have to hide you." I stated with a smile.

"Where are we going?" He asked softly before tripping.

"Hey. Hey. Relax. We need to get you out of here." I nodded.

Damon pushed me against a telegraph pole.

"I choose you, Katherine." He stated.

"Look at me. Hey. It's Sophia. It's Sophia." I tried to comfort him.

As Damon leant towards me, I desperately tried to push him away. "No. Damon. No."

"I have to, If we are to be together forever." Damon bit into my neck and began drinking.

I gasped in pain. "Damon, stop. You're hurting me. Damon, you don't have to do this. Please stop. You're hurting me!" I begged.

As he pulled away his eyes were wide and pained. "Sophia?" He dropped to his knees as his body gave up.

"Damon!" I knelt beside him and I held him gently in my arms. "Everything's going to be okay, I promise."

As I stood beside Damon's bed, he began to whimper.

"Sophia..."

"It's ok, Damon. I'm right here." I reassured him.

"Sophia, get out of here. I could hurt you." He stated with a pained tone.

"No. You won't. I'm here until the very end. I'm not leaving you." I nodded.

"Get out of here." Damon cried out in pain as his head rocked backwards and forwards across the pillow.

I quickly sat down beside Damon and took him in my arms. "Hey, hey, hey, hey. Hang on. Shh. It's ok. It's ok. It's ok."

"It's not ok. It's not ok. All those years, I've blamed Stefan. No one forced me to love her. It was my own choice." He stated. "I made the wrong choice."

"Shhh." I cood softly.

"Tell Stefan I'm sorry. Ok?" He asked looking up at me.

I took a deep breath before nodding. "I will."

Damon grew weaker and weaker as the night went on. Each minute felt like an hour as I feared Damon wasn't going to live much longer.

"This is even more pitiful than I thought." He mumbled.

"There's still hope." I tried to reassure him but my own eyes were filled with tears as I lay down on the bed beside him.

"I've made a lot of choices that have gotten me here. I deserve this." He paused for a second. "I deserve to die."

"No." I shook my head. "No you don't"

"I do, Sophia. It's ok. 'Cause if I'd have chosen differently, I wouldn't have met you." Damon stated softly. "I'm so sorry. Done so many things to hurt you." He apologised.

"It's ok. I forgive you." I rested my head gently against his chest.

"You should have met me in 1864. You would have liked me."

"I like you now. Just the way you are." I stated with a smile.

As Damon's eyes closed slowly, I gently kissed him.

"Thank you." He said weakly.

"You're welcome." I nodded.

"Well, it's me you should be thanking." Came a voice.

I quickly turned to see Katherine.

"I mean, I'm the one who brought the cure." She held up a small vial filled with blood. "I thought you were dead." Katherine stated looking at me.

"I was."

Katherine made her way over to the bed and poured the blood into Damon's mouth.

"You got free." Damon stated weakly.

"Yep. Finally." She smiled.

"And you still came here?" He asked.

"I owed you one."

Elena came running into the room. "Where's Stefan?" She asked in a panicked tone.

"He's paying for this." Katherine showed held up the vial once again. "He gave himself over to Klaus. I wouldn't expect him anytime soon."

"What do you mean, "he gave himself over"?" I asked.

"He just sacrificed everything to save his brother, including you Elena. It's a good thing you have Damon and Sophia to keep you company. Good-bye, Elena." She threw the vial to Elena.

I turned to Damon as he sat up slightly with a panicked expression. Neither of us said a word as the reality set in. Stefan was gone.


	18. The Birthday

**-Damon's POV-**

As I opened my eyes, Sophia was lying asleep next to me. I smiled before carefully moving the covers and getting out of bed being careful not to wake her. Walking over to the wardrobe, I dressed before looking at the map stuck to the inside of the door. Glancing over the images and newspaper cuttings that I had pinned up, I tried to guess Stefan and Klaus' next move, but I knew it wouldn't be that simple.

**-Sophia's POV-**

Hearing the faint sound of footsteps, I flickered my eyes open. Damon was stood looking at the map in his wardrobe. I sighed softly, losing Stefan had hit him hard, he just wasn't willing to admit it. Damon felt guilty, and that's not something he experienced often.

"Damon..." I spoke softly in a still not fully awake tone as I sat up against the headboard.

He turned to me and smiled.

"Hey." Walking over to the bed, he sat down next me. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." He apologised.

I rested my head against his shoulder. "It's okay." I looked up at him. His eyes didn't have that same cocky gleam as they once did. "We will get him back." I reassured softly.

Damon wrapped his arm around me. "It's going to take time, if Stefan's has gone over the edge, then it's going to take a lot to get him back." He admitted.

I smiled before pecking him on the lips. "I love you."

Damon smiled back and pecked my lips once again. "I love you too."

There was a knock at the door. Damon went to open it. As he did, Elena was standing outside.

"Good morning." Greeted Damon.

"Sheriff Forbes gave us another location to check." She pulled out a note from her pocket and handed it to Damon. "Memphis."

"Another dead end you mean." He stated.

"You don't know that." Elena quickly commented.

"You're right, Elena. This could be the one. After almost two months this could be the one clue that tells that Stefan is alive and well and living in Graceland." Damon spoke in a sarcastic tone.

"Damon be nice!" I scolded in more of a friendly way than a harsh one.

Elena huffed and grabbed back the note. "I'll go by myself." She turned and started walking away.

Damon sped in front of her. "Right, and let Klaus know you're tracking him. He thinks you're dead; let's keep it that way."

"It's a new lead Damon; we haven't had one in a while." Elena stated.

"Okay, I'll check it out. If I find anything I'll call you." Damon smiled before closing the door. He walked over to the wardrobe. "They moved on to Tennessee." Pinning the note up on the map, he walked back over to the bed and sat down next to me once again. "Your sister's not going to stop until she finds him."

"She's loves him, I would do the same for you." I stated softly.

Damon smiled before wrapping his arms around me once again. "Happy birthday Sophia."

_~Later That Day~_

Stood in front of the antique mirror in the Salvatore Boarding House, Damon appeared behind me. I noticed something in his hand. It was a small blue felt box. Knowing immediately what it was, I smiled. "You should give it to her." I stated softly.

Elena walked into the room. I could instantly tell that she was very close to crying.

"Lena!" I smiled before walking over and pulling her into a hug. I could feel Elena smiling too. "Happy birthday." I pulled away.

Damon walked over.

"Don't worry I'm not gonna lose it. At least not before the cake." Elena stated.

"It's your party you can cry if you want to. I got you something. I know I promised not to buy you anything so don't worry I didn't pay for it." Damon explained.

"You stole it?" Elena furrowed an eyebrow.

"No, I found it." He handed Elena the little blue box.

Elena carefully opened it. As she caught of its contents, she smiled. "My necklace. I thought I'd never see it again."

"Alaric found it in his loft, thought you'd be happy to have it back."

"I am happy, Thank you." Elena grinned.

"You're welcome." Damon smiled.

"Can you?" She asked.

I nodded. "Sure." Elena turned round and I carefully put the necklace on her before securing the clip at the back.

"Shall we?" Asked Damon.

We nodded.

Taking Damon's arm, we walked downstairs to the party. The Boarding House was full to bursting with people that I didn't even recognise. Noticing us descend the stairs, they began to cheer. As per usual, Elena went off with Bonnie and Caroline leaving me to idly walk around in search of someone to talk to. Thanks Elena.

Damon had dissapeared. I'd checked all around the house, he wasn't here. Walking into his bedroom, I closed the door behind me. What surprised me was that Elena and Caroline were already inside.

Elena smiled. "Sorry, I was just taking some time out from it all."

I nodded.

"Are you hiding?" She asked.

I shook my head. "I was just looking for Damon."

"Well, he better be here somewhere because we haven't even done the cake yet." Caroline stated.

"I think i'm gonna pass on the whole cake thing." Elena answered.

"What? no, no way, no! It's your birthday! You know it's the dawn of a new day and, you can't get on with your life until you have made a wish and blown out the candles." Caroline explained.

"Is that what you all want me to do? Just get on with my life?" Elena asked.

"No... Maybe... I just don't think anyone wants to see you like this." Caroline answered softly.

"I'm not gonna give up on finding Stefan, Caroline. You want me to make a wish? I just wanna know that he's alive. That's it! That's my wish." Elena began walking away but before she reached the door, something caught her eye. Elena turned and walked over to the wardrobe in which Damon had forgotten to close.

"Emm..." I quickly rushed over and pushed it shut. "Why are you trying to look through my boyfriend's wardrobe?" I asked standing in front of it.

"Sophia?" Elena furrowed an eyebrow. "What are you hiding?"

"Hiding, I'm not hiding anything. When did you become Sherlock Holmes?" I asked.

Caroline sped over and pulled me away from the wardrobe.

Elena quickly looked inside.

"No!" I sighed.

"What's all that?" Caroline asked.

"It's Klaus. Damon's been tracking him without me." Elena answered.

Sat down on the edge of Damon's bed, Elena was pacing back and forth across the room. When the door opened, I turned to see Damon. I could clearly see that he upset. He leant back against the door closing it before looking over and noticing Elena and I.

"What? What are you doing here?" His tone was saddened.

"Why didn't you tell me? Why did you keep it a secret?" Elena asked sternly.

"Can we not do this right now? I'm having a really bad night." He answered.

"All summer, every single time I came to you with a lead, you made me feel like an idiot for having hope."

"You were an idiot. We both were." He looked down.

"Tell me what you know, Damon." Stated Elena.

"I know you need to get back to your party, Elena." He answered softly.

"We're supposed to be in this together. Why didn't you tell me that you've been tracking Klaus' victims?" She asked.

"Because they're not Klaus' victims, Elena, they're Stefan's!" Damon's tone became more sternful.

"What?" Her eyes widened.

"He's left a trail of body parts up and down the eastern seaboard. I've seen it happen before. He's flipped the switch, full blown ripper." He explained.

"Stop it, Damon." Stated Elena.

"No, you stop, Elena!" His tone rose again so much so that he was almost shouting. "Stop looking for him. Stop waiting for him to come home. Just stop! Stefan is gone and he's not coming back. Not in your lifetime." He walked off.

_-_**Elena's POV-**_ ~Later That Night~_

Returning home, I walked inside to see Alaric packing up his stuff.

"What are you doing?" I asked softly.

"Ahh. I'm not going to stay here anymore." He answered.

"What? Why?"

"I'm not a role model. You know, I drink too much, I say the wrong things, I encourage bad behavior. At school I can pull it together, but in my own life...The way I miss Jenna, it's just, I'm really not any good to anybody right now. I'm sorry, Elena. You and Sophia are both 18 now. You can do all this alone now. You can do it better without me." He stated before walking out the door.

**-Third Person POV-**

Elena entered her bedroom and walked over to the dressing table. There was a drawing resting on top of her diary from Jeremy. Smiling, she dressed in her pyjamas before walking over to the bed. Her phone began to vibrate. Noticing this, Elena walked back over to the dressing table before answering the phone.

"Hello? Hello? Stefan? Stefan, if this is you, you'll be okay. I love you Stefan. Hold onto that. Never let that go."


	19. Before Sunset

I draped a white sheet over the arm chair before picking up the paint roller and beginning to paint the wall. Stefan walked into the room.

"Going darker, huh?" He smiled.

"It's the only color we had." Elena commented.

"That's what happens when you decide to paint your dead guardian's room in the middle of the night." I said still annoyed by the lack of sleep I got last night due to Elena.

"I don't suppose anyone tried to talk you guys out of doing this so soon." Stefan questioned.

"Oh this is the last thing I wanted to be doing at 1 o clock in the morning." I said sarcastically. Jeremy smirked. Elena didn't look too impressed.

"We have to keep moving. Otherwise we'll start thinking and we don't want to think." Elena stated.

"Want a hand?" Stefan asked.

"Yes." I grinned. "You can take over from me." I handed him the roller and walked out of the room. As I walked downstairs, the doorbell rang. Opening the door, Damon stood on the doorstep holding Bonnie by the arm. Her neck was bleeding.

"We have a problem." He stated.

I handed Bonnie a towel to staunch the bleeding.

"What do you mean he turned? I thought you were standing guard!" Questioned Stefan.

"Don't blame me. Blame Bonnie the blood bank, she fed him." Damon said angrily.

"I had no idea what was happening. Okay, the witches led me there. They wanted him to feed so he turned." Bonnie cleared up.

"So, where's the stake now?" I asked.

"Oh, you mean the white oak one? The one that can kill an Original and wipe out an entire line of vampires? We don't know." He glared at Bonnie.

"If you are so upset with me, why did you feed me your blood to save my life?" Bonnie retorted.

"Because I do stupid things, Bonnie. I do things, like let my friend die with dignity when I should have just killed him." I saw a glipse of the inner sensitive side of Damon. Alaric's death or near death has hurt him. I could tell that.

"Alright, so how do we kill him now?" Stefan interupted their argument.

"I've been trying to figure that out. A witch can't truly make an immortal creature, there is always a way to undo a spell." Bonnie stated.

"So, what's the witchy work around?" Damon asked.

"That's the problem. I don't know."

Brilliant.

I walked into Alaric's old room and sorted out the painting supplies that Elena, Stefan and Jeremy had left lying around. My phone began to ring. Looking at it, it read. 'Alaric'. I sighed before answering. "Whoever this is, it's not funny." I stated sternly.

"Well, who else would it be?" Hearing his voice struck fear in my body. He's dead.

"Ric?" I furrowed an eyebrow.

"Listen closely, I'm at the school, I have Caroline, and if you want to keep her alive, I need you to get in your car and come down here right away. If you tell anyone where you are going, I will kill her." He threatened.

The phone went dead.

I quickly ran out of the room and down the stairs before leaving through the back door and getting into my car. I put my foot down as I drove away.

When I reached the school, I ran to the history classroom and walked to the doorway. Alaric sat at his desk. Then my eyes turned to Caroline, her hands had been staked down to the table with pencils and her mouth had been gagged.

"Caroline." I gasped. "Let her go, Alaric!" I shouted angrily.

"Free her yourself." He pointed with the stake.

I cautiously walked over to Caroline before stroking her arm comfortingly. "Shhh." I tried to calm her down before I carefully began to pull the pencil out of her hand.

Alaric sped to us and slammed the pencil back down into the desk through her hand.

Caroline screamed.

"You said that you would let her go!" I shouted.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Sophia? Stop trusting vampires!"

Alaric untied the cloth from around Caroline's mouth and dipped it into a beaker of vervain. He walked back over to her.

"No, no more, please, no more!" Caroline begged.

"Alaric stop!" I stood up.

"Sit down!" Alaric pushed me back into my seat. "This keeps the vervain in her system. It's like inhaling razorblades with every breath." He put the cloth back into Caroline's mouth. Her skin began to burn. She cried out in pain.

I touched her arm for support. "Why are you doing this?" I questioned.

"To make it easier on you when you put her out of her misery." He picked up the white oak stake and walked towards me.

"What?! No!" My eyes widened. I couldn't kill Caroline.

"Isn't this what you wanted, Sophia? For me to teach you how to kill a vampire?" He held out the stake towards me. "Well, here's a vampire, Sophia. Kill her."

"This isn't what I want." I stated.

"Of course it is. All those hours you spent training, getting stronger, you could be a hunter, Sophia. But you've never actually staked a vampire through the heart."

Alaric paced backwards and forwards in front of us.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked.

"Because you need me. Because you're an 18 year old girl without parents or guidance or any sense of right and wrong anymore." He explained.

"Look at you. How is this right?!" I motioned to Caroline.

"She's a murderer. She told me she killed someone and liked it. Now how is that right? Listen, Sophia, your parents led the council. It was their life's mission to keep this town safe. They weren't dead six months before you and Elena undid it all."

"You don't know anything about them." I said sternly through gritted teeth.

"Why, am I wrong? Do you actually think that they'd be proud of you?" He knelt down in front of me. "If you don't side with the humans, you're just as bad as them. Now kill her." Alaric forced the stake into my hand. "Or I'll do it for you and I'll make it hurt. Get up!"

When I didn't move, Alaric grabbed me by the arm and pulled me out of my seat and over to Caroline. I stood there for a moment with the stake in my hand. Caroline looked up at me with fear in her eyes. Taking my oppurtunity, I swung around and attempted to stab Alaric.

He grabbed me. "I thought I taught you better than that."

The plan has worked out perfectly. "You did." I grabbed the beaker and smashed it over Alaric's head.

He screamed in pain as the vervain burnt his skin.

I quickly released Caroline. "Get help!"

She sped off.

I followed but Alaric blocked me from leaving. "Not so fast."

Alaric threw me backwards against the lockers and grabbed me round the throat, holding me against them.

"I should kill you. I should gut you like Brian Walters, Bill Forbes, and all the other cowards I plan on ripping apart. You're the worst offender of them all, Sophia. You don't deserve to live." His tone of voice scared me. I hated seeing Alaric like this.

"So then, why am I still alive? There's obviously no humanity left in you, so what's stopping you, Alaric? If you want me dead then kill me." I squirmed trying to free myself of his grip.

His eyes became red and veiny.

"Do it! Kill me!" I screamed.

Alaric released me.

Suddenly, Stefan and Damon grabbed him by the arms.

"Do it now!" Shouted Damon.

Alaric pushed Damon back against the locker before snapping Stefan's back. He fell to the ground. Damon rushed towards Alaric, but he was too slow, Alaric snapped his neck.

I gasped.

Klaus sped to Alaric and slammed his hand into his chest. Within a few seconds, Alaric threw him to the ground.

I knew I had to do something. Running to the nurses office, I grabbed a scalpel and ran back to them. "Stop!" I shouted.

They both turned to me.

I put the knife to my throat. "Let him go or I'll kill myself."

"Put it down, Sophia." Demanded Alaric.

"Why? Because you still need me alive? There's a reason why Esther used me to make you, isn't there? She didn't want you to be immortal, so she tied your life to a human one. Mine. That way you have only one life span to kill all vampires and then you'll be gone. So, when I die, you die too. That's it, it has to be!" I stated.

"You're wrong." Alaric scowled.

"Am I?" I raised an eyebrow before beginning to cut my throat.

"Stop! STOP! STOP! STOP!" Alaric screamed.

As he panicked, Klaus threw Alaric off him and grabbed me before speeding off.

As I awoke, I felt a prick and gasped. Looking at my arm, a nurse has just inserted a needle into it.

"Be careful. Moving only makes it hurt more." She smiled.

My blood began to pour through a tube and into a bloodbag. "What are you doing?" I asked.

"Draining you of all your blood." Klaus stated.

I tried to get up but my hands were bound to the chair with tight leather straps.

Tyler walked into the room. His eyes widened as he noticed me.

"Sophia?"

He put down the box he was holding.

"Tyler, help me!" I squirmed trying to free myself from the straps.

"He can't. He needs to go fetch me more empty blood bags. About three litres worth, please Tyler." Klaus ordered.

Tyler stopped.

"Tyler, please. Get Damon, please." I begged.

"No, Tyler, get the bags." Said Klaus in a stern voice.

He stood for a moment before speeding towards me. Klaus intercepted him.

"Forget the girl and get the bags. Now."

Tyler looked at me before leaving the room.

"So, that's it? You're just gonna bleed me dry." I questioned.

"Yes, but don't worry, it'll be completely painless. As the last drop is drawn, you'll simply fall asleep." He smiled evily.

**-Damon's POV-**

My phone buzzed loudly. I slowly flickered my eyes open as the pain struck in my neck.

"Uhh!" I moaned. "Why am I still alive?" I picked up my phone.

"Get up." Ordered Alaric as he looked down upon me.

I heard Stefan awaken too.

"I said, get up. Klaus is gonna kill Sophia."

My eyes widened. "What?"

"What are you talking about?" Asked Stefan.

I stood up. "Klaus needs Sophia's blood to make hybrids. She's the last person that he'd kill." I stated.

"The witch bound my life to Sophia's. If she dies, I die. Klaus figured that out and now he's taken her. Now, I'm trapped here until the sun goes down, so you two better go and save her." Alaric barged passed us.

**-Sophia's POV-**

The nurse attached a new bloodbag to the chair before walking off. I could feel myself getting weaker. "What about your hybrids? You'll need more than this to create your army."

Klaus took the bag filled with my blood off the nurse. "These last few litres will have to suffice. You see, by attempting to kill us, my mother strengthened the bond between my siblings and I. I don't need hybrids. I have my family." He grinned.

"If you believe that, then why take my blood at all?" I stated angrily.

He walked over to the chair. "It's always good to have a backup. Sweet dreams, Sophia." He began whispering in my ear. "It's been fun." Klaus walked off out of the room.

As time passed, I could feel my eyelids drooping. I knew that I wouldn't be alive for much longer. I noticed Tyler sneaking into the room. "What are you-"

He put his finger over his lips. "Shhh." Walking over to the chair, he pulled the needle from my arm and began untying me.

I noticed Klaus in the doorway. My eyes widened. "Tyler."

"So much for that sire bond." Klaus commented.

"I'm not your little bitch anymore." Tyler stated loudly.

Klaus smiled and walked closer to him. "How did you break the sire bond?" He asked.

"By breaking every bone in my body a hundred times for the girl I love."

Cute!

"That's impossible." Klaus looked shocked.

"Is it?" Tyler smiled. "Or maybe real love is stronger than fake loyalty. But what would you know about that?"

"You know, you should be thanking me. I gave you a gift. I took away your misery." Klaus shouted.

"You didn't give a crap about me! You just didn't want to be alone!" Tyler walked back over and began helping me up. "Come on."

Klaus sped to us and pushed me back into the chair. His sheer strength sent the chair tipping backwards with me in. My head smacked against the wooden step. It all went black.

**-Damon's POV-**

I sped into the room. Tyler took one of Klaus' arms while I took the other. Stefan plunged his hand into Klaus' chest making the connection once again.

Klaus gasped as his skin began to desiccate and his heartbeat slowed.

I let go of his arm. As I turned, that's when I noticed her. "Sophia!" I rushed over and shook her gently.

**-Sophia's POV-**

I awoke to Damon's gentle voice and a throbbing pain in my head.

"Hey, are you okay?" Damon asked softly.

I nodded.

"Come on." He helped me up and out of the house.

As we reached the house, I got out of the car and began walking up the driveway. Damon followed. "Huh, you're really gonna walk me all the way to the door, aren't you?" I smirked.

"You lost a lot of blood today." Damon still seem worried.

"Yeah, I know, but I told you I'm fine, I just - I have a little headache." I smiled.

"I'm just being a good boyfriend." He smirked.

"Is that Damon Salvatore's soft side I see." I opened the door and turned back to him. "Goodnight Damon." I kissed him softly.

"Goodnight Sophia." He smiled before walking off.

I closed the door and walked into the kitchen. Caroline, Jeremy, Bonnie, Tyler and Matt were all laughing.

"Sophia!" Elena threw her arms around me. "I've been so worried."

"What's going on?" I asked.

"We're having a victory party!" Caroline answered from the kitchen.

"What victory? We failed. Alaric's still out there." I stated.

"We know, but we've been trying to get rid of Klaus forever and Caroline convinced us to enjoy it for a night." Bonnie smiled.

"You know, to be honest, I'm a little pissed none of you let me help you take down Original brother number two." Matt joked.

"Yeah, he would have taken you right down to the hospital, bro." Tyler laughed.

"Please, I'm more stealth than that. I'm like a ninja."

"Yeah, you wish." Jeremy commented.

Caroline walked over and handed me a shot. "Here. You need this."

"Thanks." I turned to Tyler. "Thank you for standing up to Klaus like that." I said softly.

"Let's just say it's been a long time coming." He smiled.

"Way too long." Caroline wrapped her arm around Tyler. "Alright, let's drink!"

"I do not condone this, by the way." I smirked.

"You survived Klaus. Alright, make an exception, you can go back to being responsible tomorrow." Jeremy stated.

"Okay." I smiled.

"Hang on. Do you guys hear that?" Tyler commented.

I stayed silent as I looked around.

"That is the sound of a Klaus free life." He smirked.

I laughed before raising my glass. "To a Klaus free life." I downed the shot.

I walked down the hallway and noticed Jeremy painting Alaric's old room.

"Hey. Everyone gone?" He asked turning to me.

"It's just us." I answered.

"I hate this room." He commented.

"Me too. Mom and Dad were right. Alaric should just kill all the vampires and put an end to all of this. But then that means that Caroline dies and Bonnie loses her mom, the Mayor loses her son, Elena loses Stefan and I lose Damon. So, if it makes me the bad guy for wanting to keep those people alive, then fine, I'll be the bad guy." I stated.

"You forget that Alaric never wanted any of this. Once he carries out his plans, what if he decides he doesn't want to live anymore and he kills his human connection to end his life? That would mean I would lose you. I'm not gonna let that happen."

I smiled.

"I'm gonna shower and get some sleep. Good night, Sophia."

"Good night."

Jeremy kissed me before walking out of the room.

I grabbed a paintbrush and continued where I had left off earlier. When the paint on the brush ran out, I bent down to dip it into the tray. Pain exploded in my skull. I grabbed my head before everything went black once again.

**-Third Person POV-**

Sophia lay unconsious on the floor. Blood poured from her nose.


	20. The Departed

As the alarm's radio started playing, I awoke and turned up the volume before getting out of bed and attempted to wake Elena up.

"Too early!" She complained.

I walked over to the window and noticed Elena's cheerleading outfit. I grabbed the poms poms and jumped onto her bed.

"Give me a W! Give me a A! Give me a K! Give me an E! Give me a U! Give me a P!" I chanted loudly. "What does it spell?" I asked.

"Go away!" Elena smirked.

"No, it spells...WAKE UP!" I cheered.

Elena buried her head under the pillow.

I laughed before throwing the pom poms on the end of the bed and walking out of the room. As I reached the bathroom, I attempted to turn the doorknob.

It wouldn't budge.

"Jeremy!" I shouted before hammering on the door.

No answer.

"For god sake Jeremy!" I walked off downstairs.

"Hey." Smiled Jenna as she poured coffee from the pot into her 'World's Best Auntie' mug that Elena and I had given her last year for her birthday.

"Jeremy's locked himself in the bathroom again. Does he really think that we don't know what he's doing in there?" I smirked.

"He's 14. They don't think." She smiled.

I grabbed the coffee pot but Jenna took it off me.

"Hey, you'll get me in trouble." Jenna motioned to the doorway. Mum walked in.

"Morning." She smiled before kissing me on the cheek.

"Morning, mom."

As I awoke, I found myself in Mystic Falls hospital. I was dressed in a hospital gown and a machine beeped beside me. Where was everyone?

**-Third Person POV-**

Jeremy stopped Meredith in the corridor.

"She's gonna be fine. She got a little banged up today, hit her head, but it was just a slight concussion, nothing to worry about." She explained.

"But she collapsed, there was blood." His voice was filled with worry.

"Honestly, Jeremy, she's okay. She's just..." She paused. "She's been through a lot. Is there anyone you want to call?"

"You did what?" Exclaimed Damon.

"I took her to the hospital. When you find your sister unconscious, you call 911." Jeremy stated.

"Not when you have a parade of vampires at your disposal!" Damon said angrily.

"Every remaining Original is gonna want Sophia dead to stop Alaric. She's a sitting duck in there." Stefan spoke up.

"Well, Meredith wants to keep her here for observation." Jeremy turned to the room Sophia was in.

"Jeremy, get Sophia home, we're on our way." Damon hung up.

"Have I told you lately how much I appreciate you not being the dumbest brother on Earth?" Damon commented.

"You know one of us needs to keep moving, right? If Klaus really is the sire of our bloodline, we need to keep his body hidden before Alaric finds him, kills him, and we all end up dead." Stefan turned to Damon.

"Our life is one, big proverbial coin toss."

**-Sophia's POV-**

Tyler and Matt opened the door of the house before walking in. Caroline supported me into the house.

"Couch." She instructed.

"I'm fine. I just... I want something to eat first." I smiled.

"We're on it." Tyler answered.

Elena came rushing down the stairs.

"Sophia!" She said with a nervous expression before pulling me into a hug.

I smiled. "I'm fine Elena."

Elena pulled back and looked at me. "I know, but I'm a sister, I'm allowed to worry." She smirked.

"Alright, couch, now!" Caroline led me to the couch.

"Uhh, I told you I'm fine." I sat down on the couch.

She brought over a blanket and draiped it over me. "Doctor says rest, so you rest." She smiled caringly.

"Now, what can I get you? Do you want some tea, maybe some vodka? Both will help you sleep."

I looked at her.

"I know, I'm being smothering. It's what I do." She smirked.

"No, it's - it's nice." I said thankfully.

"I'm thinking - maybe tea with vodka." Caroline walked off into the kitchen.

I laughed before lying across the couch and resting my head on the arm.

I must have fallen asleep as when I awoke, Matt was sitting on the chair opposite. "Where is everyone?" I asked sleepily.

"Tyler and Caroline got a call from their moms so they had to leave. I have been instructed by Caroline to make sure that you rest." He smiled.

I smirked. "Bless her."

The door opened. Stefan entered.

"Sophia, are you alright?" He asked before walking over.

I smiled and nodded before standing up.

He threw his arms around me in a friendly hug.

Elena walked in from the kitchen and smiled. She handed me a mug of tea. "You need to rest."

I reluctantly walked back to the couch and sat down.

"I'll make you something to eat." Smiled Matt.

"I'll give you a hand." Stefan and Matt walked off to the kitchen.

Elena took Matt's place.

"I'm being over coddled. I feel completely fine." I smiled.

"You're on house arrest. You're supposed to be coddled." Stefan stated.

"Wouldn't it be smarter if we just got you the hell out of town?" Suggested Matt.

"And do what? Go on the run for the rest of my life? No thank you." I stood up and placed the blanket down on the chair. "And I'm not an invalid. I'm done with the couch." I smirked before leaving the room. Elijah stood in the doorway. "Stefan." I called.

Stefan walked to the doorway. "Elijah."

"Hello again."

"All we need is to take that stake away from him. Once it's been disarmed, the weapon's in my possession, my family will scatter to the ends of the Earth and Alaric will follow us." Elijah explained.

"And you'll just run?" Questioned Stefan.

"We've done it before. Klaus and Rebekah spent the better part of a thousand years evading my father. What's another half century while Sophia and Elena are able to live out the rest of their natural lives?" He said with a slight smile.

"We've finally stopped him, Elijah. After everything that he's done to us, I can't just let you bring him back." Elena spoke up.

"I give you my word. I will not revive Klaus within you or Sophia's lives. Not even within your children's lifetimes. Perhaps that will finally teach him some manners."

"Why should she trust you? All you've done is screw me and Elena over." I said sternly.

"And for that, I am deeply ashamed. But know this, Sophia could have been dead the instant I walked through that door tonight, so Elena, I leave it to you to make the decision whether to trust me or not." He looked to Elena.

"Not! Hello, his lunatic siblings will kill Sophia the first chance they get!" Damon complained down the phone.

"Rebekah and Kol will honor the terms. If you return Klaus' body to us, Sophia will come to no harm." He paused. "So, do we have a deal?"

"No! No, no, no, no. Did I mention NO?" It was clear that Damon didn't trust Elijah. "Sophia, talk some sense into your sister."

"Elena, it's up to you." Stefan spoke up.

"Oh, come on!" Damon exclaimed. "Sophia, are you going to say anything productive or just sit there and let your sister sign your life away to an Original?"

He had a point but it wasn't needed right now. I pressed the red button ending the call.

"We have a deal." Elena sighed.

**-Third Person POV-**

Matt and Jeremy sat on the front steps of the porch.

"So what are you gonna do?" Asked Matt.

"What I wanna do is run in that house, grab Sophia, and get her out of here and away from all this." He replied.

"So why don't we?"

"Good luck getting her past all the vampires in there. Even if I wanted to help Alaric, I have no idea where Klaus' body is." Jeremy buried his head in his hands.

"I do." Matt stated.

**-Sophia's POV-**

Jeremy walked into the house with Matt. They both seemed happy about something.

"What's up?" I asked.

"I rang Alaric and gave him dud information about Klaus' whereabouts." He paused. "He bought it." Jeremy smiled.

As Jeremy and Stefan left, I sat down on the window seat of our room and smiled as they walked down the driveway. I knew Jeremy would be safe with Stefan. Matt walked in with a mug of tea. "Mm, thank you." I smiled and took the mug before taking a sip and scrunching my face up at the strange taste. Matt sat down on the chair next to me.

"Sorry, I over honeyed. I suck at tea." He smirked.

I laughed.

"So, Damon." Matt began. "I still don't know what you see in him?"

"You've never seen true Damon. I know he acts like a dick, but inside, he's soft and caring. He just doesn't let people see the good in him." I explained with a smile.

I walked out from the bonfire party with Elena and took my phone out of my pocket before calling the house. "Hey, it's me."

"Your dad is making me play Pictionary. I suck at Pictionary." Laughed Jenna.

"You do. You're terrible." Dad commented.

"Bite me, Grayson." She joked.

"Listen, do you think someone could come pick us up?" I asked.

"Oh, having second thoughts about ditching family night?" Questioned Jenna.

"Here." I heard in the background. "Sophia, is everything alright?" Mom asked.

"Matt and Elena got into a fight." I said in an almost whisper so Elena didn't hear me.

"How is she?" She asked.

"She's fine." I turned to Elena. "She's got an awesome sister to look after her." I smirked.

Elena shook her head as she laughed.

I awoke in the passenger seat of Matt's truck. Elena was driving. "What's going on?" I asked.

"It's the only way we were going to get you in this truck." Elena stated.

"The tea. Matt drugged me?" I exclaimed.

"I'm sorry, Sophia, but I can't risk loosing you too." She explained.

"What the hell is going on, Elena?" I said sternly.

"I'm getting you out of town, Sophia. It's the only way to keep you safe."

**-Third Person POV-**

Stefan answered his phone. "Damon."

"Bad news, brother. Alaric staked Klaus. He's dead." Damon's voice was shocked with a hint of fear.

"I feel okay, do you feel anything?" Stefan asked.

"No."

"It took Sage about an hour before she got sick." Stefan commented.

"Yeah or Klaus was lying about being the sire of our bloodline." Damon stated.

"Well, if he wasn't lying, an hour is not enough time to get you all the way back to Mystic Falls." Stefan voice was saddened.

"For us to have our epic goodbye, Stefan?" He questioned.

"Not us, brother. You and Sophia." Stefan answered.

"Well, I guess you'll just have to say goodbye for both of us, won't you? Call me if you cough up a lung." He hung up.

Stefan ended the call and turned to Jeremy.

"Stefan. Sophia's not at home. Elena's getting her out of town." He explained.

"It's gonna be fine. Klaus was lying, we're all gonna be okay." Stefan lied.

Caroline and Elijah joined them.

"What happened?" Asked Elijah.

Stefan remained silent.

"Stefan?" Caroline questioned.

**-Sophia's POV-**

As Jeremy explained everything, I silenced in shock. "Thanks Jeremy." I hung up. "We have to go back Elena." I said softly. "If Klaus is the one that turned their bloodline, then they're all gonna die." By this time, I was close to tears.

"Sophia-" Began Elena.

"What?!" I asked.

"Damon's not with them." She answered softly. "I'm taking you to him now."

"But what about Stefan?" Realisation set in. "It's not fair on you Elena. You love him, you deserve to say goodbye."

"And so do you..." She smiled. "After everything that has happened, you deserve to be the main priority for once."

"Ring Stefan." I smiled softly. "You need to say goodbye."

Elena nodded and called Stefan before placing the phone down on the dashboard.

"Elena." Stefan answered.

"Stefan, how are you feeling? Are there any symptoms?" She asked.

"Not yet. Is something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong." She paused. "I'm taking Sophia to Damon."

Stefan didn't answer for a few seconds. "Oh, right."

"Stefan, she's always been there for me through everything." She explained. "That's why I can't be selfish with you."

My heart sunk.

"This time, she needs to be first." Elena sniffled.

"I know, I get it." He sounded broken. "Just incase this is our last goodbye, I just want to say that you are the most beautiful girl that I have ever met. Even when I tried my best to make you hate me, you never lost hope in me. I love you Elena Gilbert, don't ever forget that."

Elena went to speak but her words crumbled in her mouth. "You're gonna be fine. You hear me. You're gonna be okay and I'm gonna see you soon." She pressed end call before breaking down in tears.

**-Third Person POV-**

Stefan answered his phone. "Hello?"

"You're alive. Congratulations." Spoke Rebekah in a sour tone. "I'm just ringing to apologise. Klaus is dead, which means the deal is off. If my brothers and I are going to survive, we need to get rid of Alaric and the only way to get rid of Alaric."

"Rebekah, no." Stefan screamed down the phone.

**-Sophia's POV-**

I took my phone out of my pocket and rang Damon.

"Let me guess, calling to see if the Grim Reaper's paid a visit?" He joked.

"Jeremy told me that Alaric killed Klaus." I worried. "Do you feel anything?"

"Nope. I'm sure we'll have a laugh when we find out that Klaus is a big, fat liar." He emphasised liar.

"Yeah, I'm - I'm sure we will." I hoped.

"Hey, where are you?" He asked softly.

"Elena's driving me to you." I said gently.

"That's-"

Rebekah stood in the middle of the road.

"Elena, look out!" I screamed.

Elena swerved to avoid her. The car smashed through the wooden guardrail and plummeted into the river.

"Sophia!" Screamed Damon desperately down the phone. "Sophia!"

**-Elena's POV-**

I woke up coughing. Turning to Sophia, she was unconsious. "Sophia!" I shook her desperately. "Dad!" I screamed.

"We're gonna be okay. I promise." Dad smiled comfortingly even though I knew he was panicking inside.

**-Sophia's POV-**

As I awoke, I looked around. The van had sunk to the bottom of the river. I noticed Elena. Her eyes were closed. I began to shake her.

**-Elena's POV-**

Dad tried to break the window with his elbow. I turned back to Sophia. Her hair floated over her face.

**-Sophia's POV-**

"Elena!" I screamed. "Elena!" I continued to shake her.

**-Elena's POV-**

"Dad!" I said softly.

Dad turned to me and took hold of my hand. He shook his head. I knew what he meant. We weren't getting out.

I nodded. "I love you." My breaths became shorter until...

**-Stefan's POV-**

After hearing the accident, I dived into the water and swam down to the car.

**-Sophia's POV-**

"Elena!" I screamed still shaking her.

**-Stefan's POV-**

I looked into the front window of the car. The driver was still conscious. I went to rip off the door but he shook his head and pointed to the back seats of the car. I swam to the back and looked in. Two girls were unconscious. My eyes widened. They looked like Katherine, but they couldn't be.

**-Sophia's POV-**

I noticed Stefan. He ripped off the door.

**-Stefan's POV-**

When I reached them, Elena was unconscious. Sophia was shaking her. I had to get Sophia first, she's was still conscious.

**-Sophia's POV-**

Stefan entered the door of the car slightly and reached for me.

I shook my head and pointed to Elena. "Get Elena!" I mouthed.

"I can't leave you!" He responded.

I smiled at him weakly, I knew that this was the right thing to do. I couldn't let Elena die.

He stared at me for a moment. I knew he wanted to save both of us, but we both knew that he couldn't. Stefan ripped Elena's seatbelt before taking hold of her and swimming back up to the surface.

My eyelids began to droop as my last breaths dawned. Within seconds...

**-Damon's POV-**

I threw a punch at Alaric. He stumbled slightly before attempting to stake me. I grabbed his hand and the stake fell to the ground with a clatter. He put his hands round my neck before he starting coughing. I could feel his grip on me weakening. I looked at him as his face became pale.

"What's happening?" He groaned.

"Oh no!" I said sorrowfully. Sophia! She couldn't be dead. At that moment, I felt like my heart had been ripped from my chest.

He cried out in pain. "What's happening?!"

"No. No, no, no, no. Ric, Ric!" I said tearfully. Alaric collasped to his knees. I went down with him as I cradled him in my arms. My friend and drinking buddy was dying and there's nothing I can do to help. I felt so useless. "You are not dead. You are not dead." I repeated.

His body began to desiccate before his heart stopped. I shook him before tears began running down my cheeks. I imagined Sophia. She has always spent life being second best to her sister. If she is dead due to one of Stefan's choices, I'm gonna kill him when I get hold of him.

**-Jeremy's POV-**

I walked down the stairs. "Elena, where are you? Call me when you get this!" I put away my phone and began walking down the hallway. Alaric walked out of the kitchen.

"Jeremy." His voice was soft.

"Haven't you done enough? And how'd you even get in here?" I asked.

"I don't know. I just wanted to say goodbye and it kind of happened."

I furrowed an eyebrow. What did he mean goodbye? "Ric?" I questioned.

"I just wanted you to know that I'll always be here to look after you, Jeremy. That you'll never be alone, okay? I promise." He said softly.

"I don't understand." Then, it hit me. "Oh my God, you're a ghost. But if you're dead, that means...Sophia."

**-Elena's POV-**

Sophia's body lay on the stretcher in the morgue. Stefan held me as I buried my head into his chest. I felt sick from crying. The guilt was consuming me. She knew she was going to die, but she accepted her fate so I would live. Stefan stroked my hair gently.

**-Damon's POV-**

I ran into the hospital. "Where is she?" I looked around desperate to find her.

Meredith turned to me and held me back. "No, Damon, wait."

"Where is she!?" I said again. This time louder and with a more stern tone. I tried to get past her but she stopped me.

"You need to know, when Jeremy brought Sophia in here earlier tonight, her injuries were worse than I let on. It wasn't a concussion, it was a cerebral hemorrhage, bleeding of the brain." She explained.

My eyes widened. "What are you saying?"

"He was so worried, I didn't want to tell him, but I - I helped her. She needed my help." She slowed down her words as she spoke.

"You what?" I exclaimed.

**-Sophia's POV-**

I awoke and gasped as I bolted upright.


	21. Growing Pains

The sounds of church bells ringing, sirens, and building work pounded through my head. I bolted upright gasping for air. I breathed heavily in fear as I looked around. Stefan was sitting on the end of my bed.

"Stefan?" I panicked.

"Hey. I'm right here. You've been in and out for hours." He stated softly.

"Wh-what happened?" I asked.

Stefan lowered his head. "You were in an accident."

My eyes widened. "Oh my God. Elena is she?..."

"Alive? Ask Stefan. The hero." I was interupted by Damon who was sitting on the window seat.

I looked back at Stefan.

"She's fine." Stefan answered.

"Thank you. I thought that I - how did you?..." I began.

"Save you? He didn't." Damon stated in a saddened tone.

"When Jeremy brought you to the hospital before all this happened, your injuries were worse than anyone knew. Meredith Fell made a choice, she used Damon's blood to heal you." Stefan explained.

I gasped. "Oh my God. Does - does that mean that I - am I dead?" I asked in a panicked tone.

Stefan and Damon said nothing.

"Maybe it doesn't have to. I talked to Bonnie, she says she's stronger than ever, there might be something that she can do to help you." Stefan stated.

"No, the only thing that's going to help is for you to feed and complete the transition." Damon's tone was heartbreaking, he was hiding his emotions.

"We have all day before she has to feed, Damon. That's a day to exhaust every possible way out of this." Stefan interupted.

"There is no way out of it. We all know the drill. She feeds or she dies. There is no door number three."

Tears began to stream down my cheeks. "I was ready to die. I was supposed to die. I don't - I don't want to be - I can't be a vampire! If there's something that Bonnie can do we have to try."

"We will. We'll try everything." Stefan reassured.

**-Third Person POV-**

Damon walked into the kitchen and took out a bottle of whiskey from the cupboard. Pouring some of it out into a glass, he downed the contents in one gulp. "You shouldn't get her hopes up for something that's never happened in the history of vampirism." Damon stated.

"You know what, you weren't there the day Sophia looked me in the eye and told me she absolutely never wanted this." Stefan answered sternly.

"Then you shouldn't have let her die."

"I never meant for her to die. She asked me to help Elena first and I did." Stefan explained. "Now let me try to fix it."

**-Sophia's POV-**

Looking in the mirror, I touched my gums to check that my fangs weren't coming through yet. Some of the traits had already began to appear. My hearing had intensified meaning that I could hear the most quiet of sounds. The bulb of the table lamp was really starting to annoy me. The sound of the electricity running through it was driving me crazy. I turned to see Jeremy standing in the doorway. He walked over. "Jer!" I threw my arms around him.

"Are you okay? I watched Vicki go through this, she was a mess. Her emotions were all over the place. All these old memories came flooding back." He stated.

"I'm fine. I'm not Vicki." I smiled.

"No, you're not. You're you. You act like everything's okay so no one worries about you but you need help." Jeremy worried.

"I said I'm fine, okay?" I snapped. Regretting my outburst, I sighed and looked down. "I - I'm sorry."

Jeremy nodded. "It's okay." He smiled before walking off.

**-Elena's POV-** _~Mystic Falls Hospital~_

The hospital had discharged me earlier this morning. Caroline had come to pick me up. I still felt ill. Sophia was a vampire because of me.

"Sophia doesn't want to be a vampire." I stated.

"She doesn't want to be dead and now she's not. This isn't your fault, Elena." Caroline reassured.

"It's all my fault. I was driving. I was saved. She's a vampire because of me!" I lowered my head.

"Shh! Cool it on the V word. I'm a fugitive, remember? I'm supposed to be halfway to Florida by now." Caroline stated.

"If the Council is after you, then why are you here?" I asked softly.

"Because I don't know where to go." Caroline began to cry. "Tyler's dead and everything's different now and I..."

I pulled her into a hug. Suddenly, Caroline pulled away. A deputy opened the door. "Can I help you?" I asked.

"Sorry." He apologised before closing the door.

**-Sophia's POV-**

Sitting at the counter opposite Stefan, I took a bite out of a ham sandwich that he had made me. The taste was vile but I didn't want to show it.

"It's disgusting." Stefan sighed.

"No it's, um..." I lied.

"It's disgusting." Stefan stated once again.

I nodded before walking over to the bin and spitting it out. "I never thought I'd be saying this, but I can't stop thinking about blood."

"I should have saved you first. You shouldn't be going through this right now."

"No, if you had saved me, then Elena would be dead. What do you think I'd be going through then?" I stated.

Stefan walked over to a bottle of whiskey and poured himself a drink.

"Stefan, listen to me. You did the right thing. You did what you always do; you respected my choice." I smiled reassuringly.

"And what am I supposed to do if Bonnie can't figure out a way to help you, huh? Because then you have another choice to make. Either let yourself die or be a vampire." Stefan stated.

"Well then, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it." I sighed. Realising what I had said, I began to cry.

Stefan pulled me into a hug. "Hey. Shh, shh. It's okay. It's okay."

"I'm sorry. I..." I apologised.

Stefan pulled away and tucked a strand of hair back behind my ear. "Listen to me. No matter what happens, I'm here for you. I can help you." He smiled softly.

I looked out of the window and squinted due to the brightness of the sunlight.

"Why don't you go back upstairs where it's dark? I'll clean up."

I nodded. "Thank you." I walked off upstairs.

**-Third Person POV-** _~Klaus' Mansion~_

Rebekah picked up one of Klaus' pictures and began to choke up. Throwing the picture down, she knocked the rest of the pile off the table in a fit of rage. Damon entered the room behind her with an angered expression.

"You should know better than to sneak up on a lady." Rebekah stated.

"Good advice. Have you seen one?" Damon answered.

Rebekah turned to face him. "Tragic about Sophia. Not to make a grey cloud greyer, but does Elena even have automobile insurance?" She grinned.

Damon sped at her the white oak stake. Rebekah grabbed his wrist and bent it back preventing him from staking her with her. She then pushed him against the dresser causing him to drop the stake. Suddenly, shots could be heard as the window smashed and wooden bullets pierced into Rebekah's back. Gasping, she turned to face the window. A wooden arrow struck her in the heart causing her skin to desicate. She fell to the ground. Damon sped off.

**-Sophia's POV-** _~Gilbert House~_

Noticing the picture of Elena and I with mum and dad, I picked it up and smiled. Suddenly, I could hear voices downstairs. I rushed down the stairs. My eyes widened. "Stefan?"

"Sophia, don't move." Stefan stated as he was surrounding by police officers and Pastor Young. The officer's guns were all aimed at Stefan.

Pastor Young turned to me. "Hello Sophia." He smiled.

_~Pastor Young's Cattle Ranch~_

Sat at the table, I chewed on my fingernails. Pastor Young turned on the stove and placed the kettle upon it. He turned to me.

"You still want to be a doctor? I remember when you and Elena use to babysit my daughter. Elena would read her short stories to April. She still loves writing because of her." He smiled.

"Why did you bring me here?" I asked.

"My deputies can watch out for us here. No vampires have been invited in. Look, Sophia, I know it sounds crazy, but years ago it was your parents who were advocating having an emergency plan like this. I never thought we'd actually have to use it." He explained.

The sound of the clock ticking raged through my head.

"Elena? Elena, you okay?" Pastor Young asked.

I collected myself. "Where's Stefan?"

"Where he can't hurt you." He stated.

"He would never hurt me. You have no idea what you're talking about." I replied sternly.

"Well, I know that wherever you go, Salvatore vampires seem to follow. You hungry?" Pastor Young asked.

I shook my head. "No."

He pulled out a tray from the fridge. "So, we'll hold Stefan until Damon comes searching for you two. We'll use Rebekah to lure her siblings back into town. You'll give us the white oak stake and then we will exterminate the entire vampire race for good." He placed a steak on the table in front of me.

I breathed heavily.

"Is something wrong? Sophia, are you okay?" He asked.

My gaze went to the Pastor's neck. "No, I've got to get out of here." I got up from the seat and ran out of the house. Sprinting across the yard, I used my hand to shield my eyes from the sunlight.

"Get her!" I heard Pastor Young scream.

I continued to run until a police officer appeared and struck me with his gun. Everything went black.

"Uhh!" I moaned quietly. Flickering my eyes open, I was lying on the floor of a barn. I could hear the sound of coughing. Sitting up, I held my head. I noticed Rebekah in the cage opposite.

"I thought I killed you." She stated.

"Where am I?" I asked.

"They thought you were a vampire, so they stuck you in here with us." Rebekah explained.

"Where's Stefan?"

"Sophia, I'm right here. Are you okay?" I could heard Stefan's voice through the wall.

"Stefan." I tried to pull myself up but my body was just too weak. "I didn't feed." I stated.

"Ahh, I see what's going on here. You died with vampire blood in your system and you didn't feed and now you're locked up in here without a drop of human blood in sight. That is a problem." Rebekah smirked.

"Just ignore her." Stefan stated.

"Has anyone done the math or shall I? I'd say you've got less than three hours to feed before I get to watch you die all over again. My day just got a whole lot better." She grinned.

As time passed, I felt myself weakening. "Stefan." I struggled. "I'm out of time. I need blood. I'm dying." My breathing was heavy.

"Hey! Anyone, hey!" I heard Stefan shout.

"Will you shut up?!" Rebekah stated.

"You think we're afraid of you?" He continued to shout.

I heard the door of the barn open before I caught sight of an officer. He walked over to Stefan's cage. "You want more vervain? Keep it down."

"Listen to me. Sophia's gonna die if you don't let her out of here." Stefan stated in a panicked tone.

"Sorry, not my problem." He grinned.

"She's innocent. Let her out." Stefan explained.

The officer began to walk away.

"Let her out!" Stefan screamed.

I could hear a shot fire.

"No, stop!" I shouted.

"I said, let her out!" Stefan said once again.

I heard a second shot.

"Sophia? You still with me?" Asked Stefan.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm here. I'm okay." I struggled in a hoarse tone.

"No, you're not. I can hear you breathing. Damon was right, you should have fed this morning."

"You had hope. That's all I ever wanted you to have and you had it." I reassured.

"I'm so sorry, this is all my fault. I should have saved you then none of this would have happened." He apoligised.

"The choice was mine Stefan...Mine." I reassured softly. "I knew what I was doing when I made that choice. Elena's my sister, I wasn't going to let her die. I know it hurts you that I died, but I wouldnt've been able to live with myself if Elena died, and either would you. Stefan, you love her. If you had saved me, then you would be without her, either way, someone would have got hurt. This isn't your fault." I sighed. "God. It sucks that I can't see you right now." I wiped away tears before placing my hand on the wall that divided us.

"I'm smiling." He stated.

"Me too." I smiled before lowering my hand and closing my eyes.

**-Third Person POV-** _~Outside The Ranch~_

Damon and Elena got out of the Camaro before walking towards the house.

"How are we going to get in, we have no weapons?" Asked Elena.

"Nah, we don't need weapons. Just bait." Damon turned to Elena. "This is going to hurt!" He sunk his fangs into Elena's neck.

Elena gasped as she groaned in pain. Dropping to the ground, she held her neck.

"Yoo-hoo! Anybody home? Big, bad vampire out here." Damon smiled.

The Pastor opened the door and immediately caught sight of Elena. "Let her go. Elena's innocent."

"Well, that's the point. Give me Stefan and Sophia, she's all yours." Damon grinned before dragging Elena up by her arm. "Come on, Pastor. You know I'll kill her. I want to kill her." He stated.

"You wouldn't do that, and anyway, you're not invited in and I'm not coming out!"

A shot fired as Damon groaned. He looked down to see a bullet in his chest. Falling to the ground, his eyes closed.

_~Inside The Barn~_

The officers walked back inside the barn carrying bundles of vervain with them. Stefan and Rebekah looked at each other before Rebekah nodded.

"I got this. Bring the other one in." Stated the officer.

The other officers left the barn.

"Excuse me? Hello, sir?" Called Rebekah as she pretended to cough.

The officer loaded his gun before walking over to her cage. "I thought I told you to shut up."

"Here's the thing, my family we - we have money, castles, apartments, jewelry; just name your price and let me out." Rebekah stated.

The officer stepped closer to the cage. "I'd much rather watch you die."

Rebekah sped towards the bars. The startled officer pulled out his gun but stumbled and fell back towards the bars of Stefan's cage. Stefan grabbed him and smashed his head against the bars. Dropping him to the ground outside Sophia's cage, the officer's blood began to spill out onto the floor.

"Sophia! Sophia!" Stefan called frantically.

**-Sophia's POV-**

I flickered my eyes open to the smell of blood. I noticed the officer lying dead on the ground and his blood that was spilt on the stone floor of the barn. I crawled towards the bars before reaching through them. The blood was just too far out of my reach. Getting as close as I possibly could to the bars, I reached and reached until my finger dipped into the officer's blood. Tasting the blood, I relished in the taste and licked the excess from my pale, cracked lips.

**-Third Person POV-** _~Outside The Ranch~_

Damon lay on the grass with his eyes closed. Two officers walked over to him with their guns out. Approaching Damon's body, one of the officers gently nudged him with his foot. Suddenly, Damon sped up and snapped the neck of the first officer before grabbing his gun and hitting the other with it. They both fell to the ground dead. Damon walked over to Elena.

"Go ahead and kill me. You can't possibly hate me more than I hate myself." She stated through gritted, pained teeth.

"Oh, yes I can." He stated before pressing his foot down on Elena's bleeding neck. "It should have been you."

Suddenly, Damon was thrown backwards.

"Leave her alone!" Screamed Sophia with blood red eyes.

_~In The Barn~_

Elena stumbled into the barn holding her neck. Her weakening body got her to the first cage before she collapsed. Stefan sped to her and bit his wrist. Placing it to her mouth, the blood ran down her throat causing the wound on her neck to heal.

"Are you alright?" Asked Stefan.

Elena nodded before throwing her arms around him.

**-Sophia's POV-** _~Outside The Ranch~_

Damon and I walked towards his Camaro.

"You were gonna kill her." I stated sternly.

"I was using her as bait and look, it worked." He answered.

"It was my choice to save her. Why aren't you seeing that?" I shook my head. "If you're gonna be mad, then take it out on me. Not on Elena or Stefan or anyone else. Me."

"Are we done here?" Damon asked.

"If it had been you at the bridge last night and not Stefan and I begged you to save Elena?..." I began.

"I would have saved you! In a heartbeat, no question." Damon answered.

"That's what I thought. And then Elena would be dead, because you couldn't let go. Elena would be dead!"

"But you wouldn't be! And you would have gotten to grow up and had the life that you wanted; the life that you deserved. And I know that I didn't use to get that but I do now and I wanted that for you, Sophia, and I would have gladly have given it to you and let Elena die; because I am that selfish. But you knew that already." He opened the door of the Camaro for me.

I didn't say a word as I got in.

_~Salvatore Boarding House~_

Sat on the roof, I took in the view of Mystic Falls. It was quiet up here and the sun was just below the horizon as it was beginning to rise. I smiled at the beauty of it all.

"Sophia..." Came a voice from behind me.

I turned to see Damon. Turning back, I looked down.

Sitting down next to me, he sighed. "I'm sorry..." He apoligised.

Turning to him, I smiled. "It's okay." I took hold of his hand. "The whole Council knows who we are now. Everything's about to change."

"Yeah, We'll figure out a way to deal with that." Damon answered.

"You don't have to convince me that everything is gonna be okay." I stated.

"I know. Wish I could though. Wish I could just tell you that you'll never feel pain, that you'll never crave blood. But you will. It'll be the worst thing that you've ever lived through." He explained.

"But I'll get to live." I rested my head on Damon's shoulder as he wrapped his arms around me. "I'll be a sister and a friend and I'll be with you. Forever, if I want." I pecked his lips. "I'm gonna get through this. Just like we get through everything; one day at a time. We should get inside before sunrise."

"Bonnie made this for you yesterday." Damon stated before producing a daylight ring from his pocket. "Just in case."

"Daylight ring?" I asked.

Damon nodded before putting it on my finger.

I smiled and kissed him once again before resting my forehead against his as we watched the sun rise together.


	22. Memorial

Awakening under the soft white duvet of Damon's bed, I smiled. My arms were wrapped around him as my head was resting against his chest.

Flickering his eyes open, Damon smiled back at me before gently tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

"Morning." He pecked my lips.

"Morning, what time is it?" I asked softly.

Damon looked over at the clock on the bedside table. "It's just gone seven." He answered.

"I'm supposed to be hunting with Stefan in the forest this morning." I stated.

"This plan is not going to work." Damon stated sleepily. "The last time you made me watch Bambi, you cried when Bambi's mum got killed. How are you going to handle killing a real life deer?" He asked.

"I don't want to do the Stefan diet either you know...I just don't think I have much of a choice." I sighed. "I wouldn't be able to deal with the guilt if I hurt someone Damon." A tear rolled down my cheek.

"Hey..." Damon cood softly as he gently stroked my hair. "We'll get through this." He smiled reassuringly. "I'll be there for you, as long as it takes." Damon kissed me once again. "I love you so much."

I smiled. "I love you too Damon."

Stefan walked into the room. "You still on for today Sophia?" He asked.

I nodded nervously. "Yeah, I suppose."

"This isn't going to work Stefan." Damon stated.

"If I can get Sophia used to animal blood right out the gate, maybe she'll be able to bypass all the things that we went through." He responded.

"Delusional." Answered Damon in a comical tone. "It's like giving a kid a calculator before they know math."

I smirked.

"She needs human blood, Stefan, from the vein." Damon continued.

"Maybe she actually has a shot at this." Stefan smiled.

Walking through the woods, a deer was eating a short distance away from us. I began to breathe heavily.

"Close your eyes." Stefan instructed softly.

I looked up at him for a second before closing my eyes.

Before me, lay a magnificent deer. It's blood was smeared around my mouth as I tried to distract my thoughts from what I had just done. My emotions began to get the better of me. As tears began to stream down my face, Stefan walked over.

"Don't worry, he'll heal. Bigger animals are more resilient." He stated.

I turned to face him with a distraught expression.

"Hey." Stefan knelt down beside me and began to dab at the blood around my mouth with a cloth. "You did it. I know it's hard." He smiled reassuringly. "But you can do this."

Still crying, I nodded confidently at him.

"Come on." He stood up before holding out his hand.

Taking his hand, Stefan pulled me to my feet. "I'm gonna show you a little trick." He smiled. Walking to a line of trees, Stefan turned to me. "Alright, so imagine these trees are the starting line of a race, right? From here, you're going to push off with every ounce of strength you have. You should find that your enhanced strength has developed."

I have to admit, this did excite me. I grinned. "I'm warning you now, I suck at track!" I smirked.

"Just concentrate, okay? You can do it." Stefan encouraged. "Ready?"

I nodded.

"Go!"

I sped off into the distance. The speed in which I was running was simply incredible. I smiled as the exhilerating sensation overcame me with joy and contentment. I didn't want it to end. Suddenly, my stomach turned as I felt sick. Dropping to my knees, I threw up onto the soft green grass. My eyes widened as I noticed the blood that I had just emptied from my stomach. "Oh my god!..." I whispered in a panicked tone. Wiping away the blood, I slowly got to my feet before walking back over to Stefan who had a grin on his face.

"I think we should celebrate." He suggested.

"Celebrate what?" I asked.

"Your first feed. I know it was disgusting and traumatic and it was horrible, but you did it anyway. You survived it." Stefan smiled.

"Well, um, I wouldn't say I survived it. It actually kind of made me sick." I stated quietly.

"Listen, I choked it down for a month before I could stomach the taste. It gets easier." Stefan reassured.

Entering The Grill, I desperately looked around for Damon. Noticing him sitting at the bar, I rushed over to him. "Damon!"

He turned to face me with a smile. "How did it go?"

I hesitated. "There's something's wrong..." I began in a quiet tone. "I can't keep any of the animal blood down."

"Well, there's a shock." Damon answered.

"I need your help." I stated.

Damon sighed. "Of course you do. Pick your meal...You've got Asian fusion." He pointed a girl standing over the other side of the bar. "Mexican, or what about some good old American comfort food?"

"No. No, no human blood. Stefan's right, I have to at least try to get through this without hurting anyone."

Quickly finishing his drink, Damon stood up from the bar stool and turned to me. "Come on." He smiled before pulling me off into the bathroom. Locking the door behind us, Damon bit into the palm of his hand causing a flow of blood to slowly pour out.

My eyes immediately latched onto the sight of fresh blood as all my senses told me yes! I felt drawn to the blood as if I was in a trance.

"This is what you need, drink." He stated softly.

"What?" I furrowed an eyebrow.

"You're a new vampire, Sophia. You need warm blood from the vein. Maybe this will do the trick."

I smiled at him before taking hold of his hand and beginning to drink from his palm. My heart raced as my body felt stimulated even though I had only consumed a small amount of blood. The taste was divine and tailored to my cravings perfectly. Glancing at Damon, his eyes flickered slightly before he stumbled back against the wall holding me in his arms. Feeling quenced, I retracted my fangs before letting go of Damon's hand.

"Better?" He asked with a gentle smile.

I nodded. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

I looked at him for a few seconds before remembering about the memorial. "Oh crap! I gotta go, see you later Damon." I rushed off.

Arriving at the church, I was handed a stack of memorial pamphlets to help set up. Walking down the aisles, I began laying them out on the rows of benches. Matt walked over.

"How are you feeling? A little strung out?" He asked softly.

"I'm fine. It's just my emotions are all over the place. Everything's heightened." I opened up one of the pamphlets. "I mean just the sight of all the names of the dead makes me want to cry for a week."

"You didn't have to volunteer." Matt stated.

"People died. People we've known our whole lives, so yeah, I did." I nodded before glancing around at the front of the church. Noticing a familiar face, I turned to Matt. "Is that?"

"April Young. Yeah." He finished.

"Oh, wow." I exclaimed.

Walking to the front of the church, I sat down next to her on the bench. "Hey there." I smiled softly.

"Hey. Long time, no see. Not since..." She began in a quiet greif filled tone.

"My parent's funeral." I stated.

"Yeah."

I wrapped my arms around her in a comforting hug. "Are you gonna survive this?" I asked.

"They want me to speak. I guess all the kids who lost somebody can. What am I supposed to say? I'm sorry my dad didn't fix the gas line? But, if I don't say anything then… I mean, what if nobody does? My dad and I didn't always get along or anything but, everybody still deserves to have nice things said about them at their own funeral, you know? I mean, for my mom's funeral, everybody said these really nice things." April panicked.

"You say what you want to say or you don't say anything at all. And don't worry about your dad, everyone in this town loved him." I reassured.

"Yeah." She began to choke up. "Until two days ago."

"Even still." I took her hand and smiled once again.

"How's Peter?" April asked softly.

I lowered my head. "Peter died..." I answered sadly.

"Oh..." She sighed. "I'm so sorry." April apoligised.

"Don't be, you didn't know." Suddenly, the feeling of sickness came over me once again. "I'm sorry, I… I have to go." I quickly got up from the bench before sprinting to the bathroom. Standing over the sink, I threw up Damon's blood. Feeling weak, I dropped to my knees by the toilet as I continued to empty my stomach. Looking down at my dress, it was covered in blood. Breathing heavily, I burst into tears.

Using toliet roll in an attempt to clean up the blood, my phone began to vibrate. Quickly answering it, I tried to calm myself down. "Damon..."

"it's okay, It's okay..." He tried to calm me down. "I'm here. Where are you?"

"I'm in the basement bathroom." I answered.

The doorknob began to rattle. My eyes widened in panic.

"Is that you?" I asked in a hushed tone.

"Not yet."

"Damon, hurry!...There's someone at the door." I stated.

"Hold on, I'm coming." The phone line went dead. Damon must have hung up. A few seconds later, there was a knock at the door before I heard his beautiful voice. "Sophia?"

I quickly cleaned up some of the blood before opening the bathroom door. "Oh, thank God." I noticed a man with a suspicious expression looking at Damon and I. "Sorry, I – I spilt coffee all over my dress." I lied before closing the door. Gathering up the blood soaked tissues from the floor, I stuffed them in my bag.

"Is everything alright in there?" Asked Damon.

"Yeah." Changing in record time, I walked out of the bathroom. "I'm so sorry that took so long."

"No problem." The man smiled.

"Well, enjoy your stay. We love visitors and the scenery is to die for." Damon faked a gasp before putting his hand to his mouth. "Funeral pun. Too soon. Sorry." He smirked before putting his arm around me and quickly walking away from the man.

Rushing across the grass outside the church, I stood behind a thick tree before turning to Damon. "Did you bring the blood bag?" I asked.

"Would you mind saying that a little louder?" Damon stated as he looked around to make sure no one could see or hear us. "Here." Reaching into his suit pocket, he produced a blood bag.

I smiled before quickly ripping off the top. As I began to drink the blood, it tasted vile. Feeling sick once again, I spat out the blood.

"Sophia!" Damon spoke in a soft tone as he took the bag from me.

"No, I can't. It tastes like…. What's wrong with me?" I looked at him with wide, scared eyes.

Damon gently wiped the blood from my chin. "I don't know, maybe it's your doppelganger blood, you're rejecting the transition."

"I'm dying, aren't I?" I asked.

"No, you're not dying. You just need to drink from the vein." He stated.

"No. No, I don't – I can't risk killing anyone, Damon. Maybe I'm better off dead." I looked down.

"Hey." Damon put his hands on my shoulders. Looking into my eyes, he looked nearly as scared as I was. "Don't you think like that. Sophia, you'll be fine. Okay?" Gently caressing my face, he kissed me softly on the lips.

The church bells began to ring out.

"I have to get back inside." I sighed before walking off.

**-Third Person POV-**

Stefan stood looking at Damon and Sophia.

As Damon quickly picked up the blood bag and shoved it away into Sophia's pink messenger, he turned and noticed Stefan. "Ah, great." He spoke under his own breath.

"What's in the bag, Damon?" Asked Stefan sternly.

"Mid-service snack. Church always gets me hungry. The whole blood Christ thing, you know." Damon answered.

Stefan glared at him.

"I brought it for Sophia." He answered truthfully.

"Are you really that intent on having your way?" Stefan asked.

"It's not my way, it's the only way."

"If she hurts someone, she'll be desperate to turn the guilt off. Maybe even desperate enough to shut off her humanity." Stefan stated.

"What and become a Ripper?" Damon questioned.

"I can't let her be anything like me." Stefan sighed.

"Well, God forbid, she's anything like me. That's really what you're thinking. She's gonna go off the rails eventually, anyways, Stefan, so the faster we can make it happen, the sooner we can get her back on track." Damon stated.

"She's strong. If we help her, she can survive this."

"She's starving, Stefan! She hasn't been able to keep blood down for days." Damon filled Stefan in.

"What are you talking about? She told me she was fine." Stefan furrowed an eyebrow.

"Well, then she lied. Your four legged protein shake was a bust. The juice box is a no go. She can't even keep my blood down." He stated before walking off towards the church.

**-Sophia's POV-**

"Please turn to page forty two in your hymn book. Let us join together in a song." Stated the priest.

The service reminded me so much of my parent's funeral. Not good for someone who's emotions are like a rollercoaster right now. I knew I had to keep myself together. Suddenly, my nose picked up on something, something fresh and consumable. I gasped before turning to Damon.

"Nobody move. Don't turn around, it's a trap." He stated with a panicked expression.

I breathed heavily in an attempt to distract myself, but I could feel the veins around my eyes becoming ever more visable.

"It's okay, it's okay. I got you, I got you." Damon wrapped his arms around me.

"The blood. Damon, the blood, I can smell it. There's so much." My grip on his dark blue shirt tightened as I fely myself losing control.

"It's alright; just focus." Damon instructed softly as he began to stroke my hair in an attempt to calm me down.

"Sophia, what's wrong?" Panicked Elena.

"She's hungry. She hasn't fed." Stated Stefan.

"You need to get her out of here." Elena smiled at me softly.

"I can't. There's somebody watching us." Damon answered.

"Damon, I'm losing it." A tear rolled down my cheek.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait. Sophia, feed from me." Spoke Elena.

Damon, Stefan and I all turned to her.

"It's okay, everyone will think you're upset. Just feed from me."

"Elena, I can't..." I began.

"Yes..." She nodded. "Yes you can..."

Slowly releasing my grip on Damon's shirt, I walked over to Elena and wrapped my arms around her.

"It's okay." Stated Elena softly. "It's okay."

Breathing heavily, my fangs appeared before I sunk them into the skin of Elena's neck. The blood tasted twenty times nicer than anything I had ever tasted before. It was just so sweet and thirst quenching. Feeling refreshed, I retracted my fangs before looking at Elena.

"Thank you." I smiled.

She nodded.

I quickly wiped away a spot of blood on my chin before standing back next to Damon.

_~Salvatore Boarding House~_

I noticed Stefan pouring himself a drink in the living room and walked over. "You're mad."

He shook his head. "I'm not mad, I'm just upset that you lied to me."

"I didn't lie. I just didn't tell you." I stated in a quiet tone.

"Come on, Sophia, you lied to me." Stefan sighed.

"You were just so happy that things were going well and – and…" I couldn't finish my sentence because of tears. "Why am I crying!" I slammed my hand against the wall in rage. "I feel like I've been crying since the day that my parents died. My life it's – it's like a never ending funeral. We keep burying people, Stefan. I also can't stop thinking about Peter! It's as if my mind wants me to be miserable!" I sighed. "I'm sorry, I can't..." I walked off.

~Mystic Falls Cemetary~

Sat on one of the tombstones, I looked down at Peter's grave.

'_Peter Bowman_

_We never lose the one we love forever. Though he's gone, within the hearts of those who cared, his memory lingers on._'

"You're probably wondering why it's took me so long to visit." I stated softly. "I don't even know how to answer that question myself to be honest." I sighed. "Everything has changed so much, some things for the better, some for the worst."

My phone vibrated. I opened the mesage. It was from Elena.

"They're floating lanterns in the sky, can you believe that? A Japanese lantern is the symbol of letting go of the past. Well, here's a news flash, we're not Japanese!" I scoffed. "Like lighting a candle or saying a prayer is going to make everything okay! While we're at it, we might aswell pretend that I'm not going to end up just like every other murderous vampire." I sighed. "I know what you're going to say; "It makes them feel better, Sophia." So what? For how long? A minute, a day? What differences does it make?" I got up and walked towards the grave still speaking to it. "Because in the end, when you lose somebody; every candle, every prayer is not going to make up for the fact that the only thing that you have left is a hole in your life where that somebody that you cared about used to be." I looked at the grave once again. "And a rock where the grave next to it has a weeping angel statue marking it and I'd be lying if I said that didn't freak me out a little." I smirked. "You should never have made me watch those episodes of Doctor Who." I sat back down on the tombstone. "I miss you so much." I admitted softly before lowering my head. Looking at the grave one last final time, I stood up before walking off.

**-Third Person POV-**

Peter was sat on the stone bench behind the tombstone where Sophia was sitting. He watched her as she slowly walked away through the graveyard.

"I miss you too Sophia." He sighed before looking down with a saddened expression.


End file.
